Judge Tosses Cities' Recruitment Bans

[OcdtADF]

I wonder what the result of this little precedent will be? Could the same argument be made in relation the ROTC and Universities?

SAN FRANCISCO - A federal judge on Thursday struck down two Northern California city ordinances banning military recruitment of minors, finding the laws violated the U.S. Constitution.

Voters in the cities of Arcata and Eureka passed identical Youth Protection Acts in November with 73 percent and 56 percent approval, respectively. They ordered Armed Forces recruiters to refrain from contacting people under 18 or face a fine.

But the Justice Department promptly sued, arguing that they interfered with the government's ability to raise an army and protect the country.

U.S. District Judge Saundra Armstrong in Oakland agreed Thursday with the federal government and invalidated the laws, saying they violated the clause of the Constitution that establishes the Constitution, federal statutes and treaties as the supreme law of the land.

Full Text [http://www.military.com/news/article/June-2009/judge-tosses-cities-recruitment-bans.html]

[Richard]

They were trying to limit the recruiters from access to minors - those under 17 - you have to understand the area up there - lots of granola holdovers from the 60s and 70s with marijuana and meth being two of their most valuable market crops.

I personally don't see how they can prevent it as they're not recruiting minors - just providing information on what citizens in this country can do if they choose to when old enough to do so - which parallels exactly what schools and counselors provide as far as future schooling and job development opportunity info for all students. If they disallow the recruiters simply providing such info, must they also disallow college, technical and business training recruiters for the same reasons? :(

Richard's $.02 :munchin