The Selective Service System is one of the last gender-based distinctions still on the books in federal law. Men ages 18 to 26 are legally required to register for the draft in the United States: fail to sign up and you could still face major penalties — even though the draft hasn’t been used since 1973.

A new petition before the Supreme Court argues that women should also be required to register for the draft. Its defenders say that’s only fair, following a 2015 decision by former Secretary of Defense Ashton B. Carter that opened all combat positions in the military to women.

But nearly 50 years after the Selective Service System was last used, a new bill in Congress poses a bigger question: why do we even still have the draft system in the United States?

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