Documenting Conscientious Objector Status – Start Now

[Blue State Blues]

This article in Mothering Magazine has good information for any parent wishing to document and establish conscientious objector status for their child, and may also help draft-age young people document it for themselves.

(I had to type this in, my apologies for any typos or incorrect transcription.)

Help Your Peace-Loving Child Avoid the Draft:
Don’t wait until he’s 18 to document his opposition to war. Record it now.

By Helen James

The author talks about attending a peace march on the eve of the Gulf War, with her then nine-year-old son.

As I stopped to take a photo of the boys with their handmade peace signs, a tired, frail looking man, covered with war medals and peace buttons, began limping toward me as fast as he could manage. He’d broken ranks with his group, Vietnam Vets Against the War, and had a look on his face I will never forget. He came close and embraced me, then pulled back, stared into my eyes, and said, “If my mother had done that for me, I wouldn’t be like this now.” We shared a moment of silence, then parted with a handshake.

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Politicians of both parties warn us that this war will last a lifetime. Troops are being commanded to serve more time than they signed up for, and according to some, army recruiting numbers are down. It’s a fact of life – nations reinstate conscription whenever they need soldiers. Most experts agree that opening a second war front means the draft will be back. Women could be forced to serve, and neither Canada nor college will provide refuge as they have in the past.

<snip>

If the draft is reinstated, under existing regulations a young conscript wanting to claim CO status will need to prove that he has a “sincere” objection to all wars. He will have to show what he believes and why, how he came to believe it, and how his actions prove he practices what he believes. His belief, according to the law, must be religious, moral, or ethical, not political or pragmatic. It is unnecessary to prove church attendance, affiliation, or a belief in God.

<snip>

It is, however, necessary for a CO to prove his sincerity, and that’s where documentation comes in. Conscripts may get as few as ten days to put together supporting evidence for a CO claim. Should my son ever want to prove the depth of his convictions, he’ll already have a scrapbook full of documents tracing his beliefs over his entire life.

<snip>

The article goes on to describe what should go into a CO scrapbook or file.

1. A personal history and diary – documentation of peace events attended, books read, the development of the CO’s beliefs about war.

2. Letters of character reference and statements of family values – letters from other people about the CO’s beliefs and/or their own.

3. Documents about religious or spiritual practices (but formal religious practice is not required for CO status)

4. Anything that shows the CO’s concern for life and the unity of nature.

The article also notes that it may be helpful to have significant documents notarized or stapled and mailed to yourself without an envelope so that the postmark is directly on the document.

Additional resources are available at the following link: www.mothering.com/sections/extras/peace.html

Full article text available in the current issue of Mothering Magazine (128 January/February 2005 $5.95) on newsstands now – don’t be scared of the title, it’s a good magazine for fathers, too.