Avoid The Draft

what are some ways to avoid the draft? How can you become an official conscientious objector?

(this page was recently copied from KnowItAll, inorder alow it to be longer, and found easyer, feel free to add, and corect to any part of it.)

There is also TheDraft, which is just a page of related links.

Take a look at this law, it isn;t about to pass with only two cosponsors but it's still scary that people are even thinking about doing this. http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c107:H.R.3598:

   /DYsk/

Break your leg. Ahha- somthing I know quite a bit about. First if you havn't registered yet, don't. Yes thats breaking the law, but so many people just ignore it, that theres like a one in a thousand chance that they will pick you to prosecute. Thats what I have done so far- I got a nice series of thretaning letters ending with one saying they were submiting my name to the justice department, who already have so many other things to do that prosecuting some draft dodger is not really gonna happen. Maybe if we were to get into a war or somthing, but... Of course if you want government grants or jobs, most of them check to see if you've registered- however my plot is that since at the moment I don't want any of those things, and they will still accept my registration till I'm 26, I'll just wait a few years to register. Second if you havn't registered yet, again, use the paper version and write "I am a conciencious objector to war in all forms"(Or whichever forms of war you are opposed to) on it, and photo copy it and mail the copy to your self, and dont open the envelope- just file it so you have an unopened envelope with a postmark on it with a record of that in it should the draft be enstated. Third, write a statement of what your belifes regarding war are, and get as much evidence to back that up as possible- letters from friends, random strangers youve talked to about those belifes, etc..include any activitys such as protests and rallys against war that you may have participated in.If you are part of some group, particularly a religious one that could in some way or annother write a statement backing you up, and put coppys of both on file in their records, then shold the draft be enstated you have more evidence to back up your case. The further back in your life you can document your belifes, the more likely you are to be given CO status. As somone said below, you can only appluy for CO status after the draft is enstated, so for now just collect all the resources you can to back up your case, and keep your fingers crossed hoping you wont need them. Oh and whoever said that below about peace churches being automatically exempt is wrong- the Amish/Menonites maybe, but I know quakers arn't, though having been a quaker for a while will probobly get you co status fairly quickly. (However if you go join a quaker meeting when the draft is enstated, without ever having been before, they'll probobly look at it like your trying to pull somthing over on em) You still hav to go through all the same paperwork and go before the draft board... I think thats a pretty good over view. If you have any more questions put em up and I'll try to answer. Lorin P.S. A useful organization, which has good guides to writing a statement, and I belives will even keep your statement on file for you in case you ever need it, is the National Interreligious Service Board for Conciencious Objectors (NISBCO???) www.nisbco.org

 Sorry to be vague here, folks, but a lot of this info is inaccurate. I
don't have time to post it all now, but I will eventually put some current
info up. In the meanwhile, email me at bluesbodger@yahoo.com if you wanna
know more. I love to tell people about this stuff. And I really do have the
info on some authority, too. 
 Peace, 
 Chris B

close the door. Easy answer: Join a peace church, the Bretheren, Amish, Mennonite and Quaker churches are automatically exempt. Unitarians aren't automatically exempt, but there's a way... Amish are Mennonites. When a draft is started, register your objection then, as that's the "correct" time for that. Bastards.[2] [7] Good luck. This is sort of a last resort, but if one must really avoid the draft, and you need to leave the country quickly. I might suggest going to New Zealand. The U.S. has not extradition treaties with that country. It used to be Canada, but things have changed quite a bit. Also there is France, and a few other countries. Many people charged with crimes move there or the south Pacific. -Gennie, (who would be set if she ever became a master criminal)