Daughters of the American Revolution Rejects Member Request To Bar Transgender Members

The Daughters of the American Revolution will remain open to transgender members, the oldest women-only genealogical society has ruled. The decision comes just a few weeks after President Trump signed an executive order affirming that the government will only recognize two biological sexes. The verdict was announced Saturday when the DAR sent a letter to one of its Texas-based chapters informing them that their proposed amendment to ban biological men from joining the organization was rejected by the board. “The National society will continue to rely on its long-standing policy to accept state-certified birth certificates and will not introduce requirements from chromosomal DNA tests to establish an applicant’s sex,” the DAR’s recording secretary general, Lanabeth Horgen, wrote in a letter. Ms. Horgen noted that the organization’s board determined that the amendment was not “in the best interests of the society.” The DAR’s national board followed up by issuing a member-wide letter about the decision, noting that the chapters behind the proposal represent 738 members or “less than one-half of one percent” of the DAR’s total membership.The proposal, issued by the Martha Laird Chapter in Mt. Pleasant, Texas in January, calls on the DAR to narrow membership to those who are “biological female at conception, having only naturally occurring X chromosomes, exclusive of Y chromosomes, and certified as female or girl on the original birth certificate.” The chapter also called on applicants to be required to submit a “chromosomal DNA test” or “a notarized, sworn statement affirming the birth certificate submitted is an unaltered, unamended original document indicating female or girl.”One of the proposal’s champions, Laura McDonald, expressed her disappointment over the ruling but reiterated her and her supporters’ long standing theory that DAR leaders have resisted banning biological men who identify as women over concerns that it would jeopardize the organization’s non-profit status.The DAR has not yet responded to the Sun’s request for comment regarding the allegation. “The rejection by the National Board of Management of our proposal to define a woman in our bylaws sadly confirms what we knew all along — that leadership is taking a political stance which is based on fears of the loss of 501(c)(3) nonprofit status,” Ms. McDonald told the Federalist. The Center for American Liberty, which has supported Ms. McDonald’s efforts, sent a letter to the DAR in January assuring that the group would not lose its tax-exempt accreditation should it choose to exclude biological men who identify as women. The center argues that the organization’s members are permitted under the First Amendment to only accept biological women. “To the best of our knowledge, the IRS has never revoked a sex-based organization’s nonprofit status based on the fact that the organization excluded trans-identifying men from membership eligibility,” the Center wrote in its memorandum. “Moreover, the DAR currently excludes men who do not identify as transgender from eligibility.” The historic society was founded in 1890 by patriotic-minded women who were prevented from joining the Sons of the American Revolution. The group promotes “historic preservation, education, and patriotism” and has boasted over a million members since its inception. The organization famously requires prospective members to prove that they hold “lineal descent from patriots of the American Revolution.” Clashes over the membership issue began two years ago when the organization passed a bylaw amendment which stated that chapters cannot “discriminate against an eligible applicant based on race, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.” The updated language sparked confusion over whether biological men who identify as women would be allowed to join and prompted several members to resign. An internal document shared with Fox News titled “Answers to Frequently Asked Member Questions Regarding Transgender Women in DAR,” affirmed that biological men would be able to join. Hundreds of members resigned in protest, according to the New Tolerance Campaign. Ms. McDonald is not deterred by this latest setback, however. The DAR member has already drafted a second proposal that she says will “accommodate the concerns” expressed by the board in their rejection letter, she told Fox News. “We are looking forward to this process again in the coming year — our goal is to Restore our Iconic, Historic and once prestigious American Institution founded by women, for women and we intend to see it through,” Ms. McDonald said. The Martha Laird chapter is expected to vote on the proposal at their upcoming meeting in March.

Daughters of the American Revolution Rejects Member Request To Bar Transgender Members

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