ORLANDO, Fla. — If women can serve in combat in the military, they should be eligible for the draft.

  • National Coalition of Men v. Selective Service System
  • Ban lifted on women in combat in 2013
  • Judge: Men and woman now more "simularly situated"

That's the ruling from a U.S. District Court judge in Texas, who ruled late Friday that male-only registration for Selective Service was unconstitutional.

The decision overturns a 1981 Supreme Court ruling, Rostker v. Goldberg, which said women did not have to register for a military draft because they weren't "simularly situated" as men. At the time, women could not serve in combat.

In 2013, however, the Dept. of Defense lifted its ban on women in combat, and Judge Gray Miller said that meant men and women were now "simularly situated."

The lawsuit was brought on by a group called the National Coalition for Men, which sued the Selective Service System, an independent federal agency. 

The Military Selective Service Act requires all men, ages 18-25, to provide basic personal information to the Selective Service System, so that if a draft is instituted they may be called up. They are supposed to register within 30 days of their 18th birthday.

The act includes male U.S. citizens and male immigrant non-citizens.

A Selective Service Act has been in existence in the United States since 1917, with various updates since then. The last time the draft was instituted was during the Vietnam War. President Gerald Ford eliminated the registration requirement in 1975, but President Jimmy Carter reinstituted the registration requirement in 1980 after the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979.

Since then there have been efforts in Congress to abolish the Selective Service System, and also to expand it to women. 

Congress commissioned the National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service to study the issue. An interim report showed many men may not even realize what they've registered for, because it's part of getting a driver's license or applying for financial aid. A final report will be issued next March.

The judge has not issued any injunction to stop the selective service. 

Information from CNN contributed to this report.