It would be more correct to say many elected offices, not most. My bad. Different states have different laws, but in Mendicino County CA, the newly elected (1998) District Attorney is a convicted felon and in Nevada, a felon may serve in the state legislature but cannot apply for or possess a gaming (gambling) license. I know that a convicted felon is prohibited from serving as President, but the only requirements I can find for the U.S. House and Senate are that a candidate must be 30 years of age, a U.S. citizen, and a resident of the state where he seeks office.
The seeming contradiction between a convicted felon not being able to vote, but being able to serve in elected office is that when a felon is convicted, he is by law considered 'disenfranchised'. Disenfranchisement entails the (usually permanent) loss of "rights and privileges". Voting is considered a "right". Serving in office is considered "duty" or "public service".
As for women in the military, In my experience they are as capable as men, within certain constraints involving pregnancy and to some extent, raw physical strength. I have also served abroad, where cultural constraints limited a woman's ability to be effective in her duty. Certain cultures could give a shit about equal rights. And while most civilians probably aren't aware of this, under status of forces agreement in effect throughout the world, U.S. military forces are not only bound by U.S. law, but also by the law and to a large extent, the cultural constraints of the country where they serve. |
