Senator names bill designed to abolish the draft after late Muhammad Ali
Perhaps the defining moment of the late former heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali's life was his opposition to the Vietnam War. Because Ali refused induction into the Army, he was convicted of draft evasion and banned from boxing in the prime of his career.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said in a video he posted on social media that he plans to honor Ali's legacy by naming a bill after him that will abolish the draft.
In honor of Muhammad Ali's life work, I'll introduce the repeal of the draft as legislation with his name on it.https://t.co/yWPf4KPzow
— Dr. Rand Paul (@RandPaul) June 9, 2016
Paul praised Ali's principled objections to the war.
He refused to compromise or back down. The same is true of Ali's opposition to the Vietnam War. There is something that must be cleared up before any discussion of this subject can begin. Muhammad Ali was not a draft dodger. When Ali was drafted, he did not run away. He did not go to Canada. He didn't ask for special favors, treatment or even try to get a deferment. He was a conscientious objector and practiced civil disobedience, a proud American tradition that runs from the founding fathers to Thoreau and all the way to Martin Luther King Jr. in Ali's own time. The Vietnam War was regrettable for many reasons, but among them was that we forced men or women to fight in a conflict so much of the country was being to see was not in our national interests.
Ali will be buried Friday in Louisville, the place of his birth. He died on June 3 in a Phoenix-area hospital of septic shock, brought on by respiratory problems. Former President Bill Clinton will be among his eulogists.
