The Daughters of the American Revolution beat back a membership uprising over transgender membership, rejecting a resolution that would have barred male-born candidates from being admitted to the venerable women’s patriotic organization.
DAR members defeated the resolution, which would have clarified that applicants must be “born female” to be eligible for membership, at a Friday vote of the 135th Continental Congress at Memorial Continental Hall in the District.
Introduced by a cohort of members known as Daughters Advocating for Restoration, the proposal lost by a 1,481-984 vote of the assembly, according to Laura McDonald, a leader of the resistance group and treasurer of the DAR’s Martha Laird Chapter in Mount Pleasant, Texas.
“Today the Daughters of the American Revolution, whose motto is ‘God, Home and Country,’ voted to reject a resolution that seeks to define the word ‘woman’ in our National Bylaws,” said Ms. McDonald in a statement to The Washington Times.
“While admitting men with amended birth certificates is still a violation of the bylaws, I do believe the will of the assembly was heard today,” she said. “We don’t know what the future holds or what God’s plan is, but we do know He has a plan and we trust Him.”
Membership is limited to women 18 and older descended from an ancestor who aided the American Revolution, but the president-general said in 2023 that “transgender women” are eligible under the group’s nondiscrimination policy.
An estimated five male-to-female transgender candidates have joined DAR chapters in recent years, spurring thousands of resignations and an internal battle over whether “daughters” include biological males who identify as women.
Cheering the outcome were members of Daughters for Inclusivity, a countergroup of DAR members in support of “welcoming all women” and the principle that “trans women are women.”
“Thankfully, the Resolution did not pass,” said Joy Abshire Laws on the Daughters for Inclusivity page on Facebook. “There is no place for discrimination in the Daughters of the American Revolution. Thank you to the delegates who persevered through a long and grueling vote and chose a path of inclusion, respect, and unity. Now it’s time to move forward together.”
Teagan Livingston, a self-described “trans daughter,” also thanked members for defeating the proposal, saying on Facebook that “I’m over the moon grateful for DAR and the wonderful daughters who showed up!”
The resolution’s opponents included DAR President-General Ginnie Sebastian Storage, who posted after the vote, “Thank you all!”
The resolution read: “Resolved, That in Article III, Section 1 of the Bylaws, the term ‘woman’ shall be understood to clearly mean a woman who was born female, and therefore, individuals who were born male shall not be eligible for membership; transgender women shall not be eligible for membership; and men who have their birth certificates changed from male to female shall not be eligible for membership.”
Those opposing the resolution warned that barring transgender members would jeopardize the group’s nonprofit status and property-tax exemption, while supporters argued that private-membership organizations have a First Amendment right to set their eligibility criteria.
Several members of Daughters Advocating for Restoration said on Facebook that they would resign, while others urged them not to abandon the field.
“Stay and fight — remember your ancestors didn’t give up,” said Debra Maggart on Facebook. “Resigning allows them to win. This was your first real run at changing things. This was a learning experience. Remember — You descend from warriors.”
The vote came after a three-year effort by Daughters of Restoration to place the issue before the membership.
The annual assembly began Thursday and runs through Sunday.
