EXCLUSIVE: Judge Blocks DAR From Dissolving Texas Chapter That Opposed Transgender Policy

FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—A Texas judge blocked the national Daughters of the American Revolution from dissolving an 84-year-old chapter that helped lead an internal revolt against the society’s transgender policy.

“The court’s order is an important victory for the Martha Laird Chapter and the women who stood up for the principle that a women’s organization should be for women,” Lea Patterson, senior litigation counsel at the Heritage Foundation’s Legal Action Center, which is representing the Texas-based chapter, said in a statement first provided to the Daily Signal. The chapter challenged the society’s policy of admitting male members who claim to identify as transgender.

On Oct. 10, the national society announced that it had disbanded the Martha Laird Chapter. The DAR directed the chapter to dissolve and transfer its property to the Texas DAR by Nov. 9, and the Texas DAR demanded the money in the chapter’s $16,000 bank-account balance.

The chapter sued, and Texas District Judge Angela Saucier issued a temporary restraining order Nov. 2, blocking the dissolution until the case can be resolved.

“National DAR leadership tried to silence these women by disbanding their 84-year-old chapter,” Patterson added. “We are grateful the court has stepped in to protect the chapter while this fight continues.”

The national society denies dissolving the chapter over the transgender issue. The DAR previously told the Daily Signal that the Martha Laird Chapter had “used the chapter’s name, leadership positions, communications, and governance processes to further the goals of a separate advocacy organization,” in violation of the bylaws. The society said the alleged use of chapter authority and resources, “not the views being expressed,” constituted the basis for dissolution.

The DAR did not name the separate advocacy organization. The court is scheduled to hold another hearing Nov. 9, according to the Heritage Legal Action Center.

The women who founded the DAR in 1890 did so after the Sons of the American Revolution refused to admit women. The transgender dispute dates back to at least 2022, when a New Jersey chapter reportedly accepted a man in 2022, inspiring backlash.

Organizers of the DAR changed the group’s bylaws in 2023, barring local chapters from discriminating on the basis of gender, religion, or sexual orientation. The group’s president general said the new policy would require chapters to admit men who claimed to identify as women, so long as they changed their birth certificates. Many members reportedly resigned following the new policy.

At least 68 chapters in 27 states signed a resolution demanding a vote to clarify the bylaws. In relevant part, the resolution states:

“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.”

Laura McDonald, founder and president of Daughters Advocating Restoration and a member of the DAR since 2018, previously told the Daily Signal that the DAR did not follow its own bylaws in dealing with the resolution. She said the bylaws require a separate meeting to address the resolution, but the DAR leadership held the vote at the society’s annual Constitutional Convention instead. Members reportedly voted, 1,481 to 984, against the resolution, though McDonald harbored many concerns about the voting process. Ahead of the vote, the DAR leadership distributed a legal memo opposing the resolution.

Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va., filed a bill in July that would amend the society’s congressional charter to define woman.

Cline’s bill defines “woman” as “an adult human female,” and “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 headquarters tried to punish its members for speaking out, shut down legitimate debate, and strip a chapter of its assets without a fair process,” Patterson told the Daily Signal. “These women followed DAR’s own procedures to advocate for change. They deserve to be heard, not punished for standing up for their convictions.”

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