Alabama’s senators have joined supporters of legislation that would bar transgender women from joining the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Senator Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, sponsored the Daughters of the American Revolution Membership Integrity Act in the Senate, while Representative Ben Cline, R-Virginia, sponsored the House version. The legislation would amend the Daughters of the American Revolution’s federal charter to require members to have been female at birth.
The lawmakers introduced the legislation after DAR members rejected a resolution last month that would have barred transgender women from joining the historical organization for female descendants of people who supported American independence.
Members voted 1,481-984 during the organization’s 135th Continental Congress against amending its bylaws to exclude transgender applicants.
Daughters Advocating for Restoration, a group of DAR leaders that has encouraged local chapters to support barring transgender women from membership, introduced the unsuccessful resolution.
Senator Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama, and Senator Katie Britt, R-Alabama, cosponsored the Senate bill and called for its passage in statements Blackburn’s office released Tuesday.
“There’s a reason the founders of this group named it the DAUGHTERS of the American Revolution,” Tuberville said.
“They had the common sense to recognize what a woman is; unlike the woke Left that apparently doesn’t understand the differences between female and male anatomy,” Tuberville continued. “Alabama has over 4,000 members in the DAR, and they shouldn’t have to be putting up with this woke nonsense. Amending the eligibility requirements to reflect the founders’ vision is something all of my colleagues should be able to get behind.”
Britt said she was proud to cosponsor what she described as a common-sense measure.
“The Daughters of the American Revolution are called ‘Daughters’ for a reason—this organization is meant to honor the legacy of American women and their ancestors, not pander to a distorted sense of reality manufactured by far-left radical Democrats,” Britt said. “Whether in women’s locker rooms or time-honored organizations like DAR, it is our job to protect women and girls in spaces that are rightfully theirs.”
Representative Gary Palmer, R-Alabama, and Representative Robert Aderholt, R-Alabama, cosponsored the House version, which was filed July 15.
Palmer described the legislation July 17 as protecting the “integrity of the DAR by preserving its historic purpose.”
“It should be commonsense that to be a part of the Daughters of the American Revolution, you have to be a daughter. Unfortunately, commonsense has become a casualty of the left’s radical agenda,” Palmer said on social media. “Congress will not allow radical activists to erase womanhood from one of our nation’s oldest patriotic organizations.”
The bill would define “female” as “a person who naturally has, had, will have, or would have but for a congenital anomaly or intentional or unintentional disruption, the reproductive system that produces, transports, and utilizes the large gamete (ova) for fertilization.”
DAR added anti-discrimination language to its bylaws in 2023. The organization removed language allowing local chapters to reject applicants deemed “not personally acceptable” and added a provision stating that chapters “may not discriminate against an eligible applicant based on race, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.”
An estimated five transgender women have joined DAR in recent years, prompting debate over its eligibility requirements and calls from Daughters Advocating for Restoration to amend the bylaws.
According to Daughters Advocating for Restoration, 153 DAR chapters in 36 states had publicly supported the group’s proposed bylaw amendment as of Tuesday. The coalition launched in 2022.
Nine Alabama DAR chapters have joined Daughters Advocating for Restoration in requesting a special meeting to amend the organization’s bylaws.
The debate over transgender membership also prompted DAR members who oppose the proposed restrictions to form Daughters for Inclusivity, a counterorganization to Daughters Advocating for Restoration.
