Laura McDonald, founder of Daughters Advocating for Restoration, said the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is facing a “governance crisis” after leaders adopted a policy allowing biological males who identify as women to join the historic women’s organization.
McDonald discussed the controversy during an interview Thursday on The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, where she said she believes the organization’s leadership made the decision internally rather than through a vote of the membership.
McDonald first emphasized that she was speaking as a DAR member and not on behalf of the organization.
“I am a member of the DAR, but I don’t speak for the DAR,” McDonald said. “I am the founder of a 501(c)(3) called Daughters Advocating for Restoration that’s made up of like-minded members who want to see the DAR restored to being an organization for biological women.”
McDonald said the policy change occurred quietly over the past decade as national and state leaders allowed individuals who had amended birth certificates to join the organization.
“Leaders — those who have executive and national, state and national offices — have made internal policy decisions, quietly admitting men who have amended birth certificates,” McDonald said. “And this was, again, something done not at a vote of the assembly, but just a decision that was made to do this.”
She said many DAR members became upset after learning about the policy and began questioning how it was adopted.
“When members have found out about it, they are, rightfully, upset about it, confused, and want to know, ‘How did we get here, and how do we remedy this?’” McDonald said.
According to McDonald, the issue dates back to at least 2012 or 2013, when a DAR president general was presented with an application from someone she described as a biological male who had submitted a birth certificate identifying the person as female.
McDonald said the application was approved after DAR officials determined they could not challenge the amended document.
“She asked the genealogical department, ‘What do we do about this?’ and was advised that if the birth certificate says female, we can’t question that document,” McDonald said. “And they just sailed right on through.”
McDonald said she believes the issue has since evolved from a question about documentation into an ideological dispute within the organization.
“It’s morphed into that over the last decade or so because we’ve uncovered internal documents that leaders make the claim that trans women are not men,” McDonald said.
She pointed to statements from some DAR leaders who support the position that “trans women are women,” saying those views conflict with many longtime members’ understanding of the organization.
“The current president general is part of an open public Facebook group called Daughters for Inclusivity, where they make the claim that, quote, ‘Trans women are women,’” McDonald said. “And they want us members to go along with that notion.”
McDonald said members have attempted for years to change the organization’s bylaws to address membership eligibility but have been blocked by leadership.
“For the last three years we’ve tried to do that,” she said. “We’ve been rejected by the board. They have kept us from doing that.”
She described the current situation as a broader governance problem.
“We are in a governance crisis right now within the DAR,” McDonald said. “You’ve got some of the women at the top who have become ideologically active, they’re activists, I would say, in this.”
The DAR, founded in 1890, has approximately 187,000 to 190,000 members, according to McDonald. She described the organization as a service group focused on preserving history, honoring veterans, and supporting education.
“We are a service organization,” McDonald said. “Our motto is God, home and country. Our mission is historic preservation, patriotism and education, and we serve our communities, we honor veterans.”
McDonald said she does not support creating a new organization to replace DAR, arguing members should work to preserve the existing institution.
“We are not willing to concede this institution that was created over a century ago,” McDonald said. “Why should we concede our institution to those people?”
McDonald said her group is pursuing multiple avenues to challenge the policy, including internal governance efforts and congressional action.
“The number one thing we do is pray,” McDonald said. “We call on God, just like our founders did with the firm reliance on the protection of divine providence.”
She also said members are working on “bylaw amendments, special meetings, resolutions to determine our own membership eligibility.”
McDonald noted that DAR is congressionally chartered and said legislation has been introduced that would require the organization to follow its own bylaws regarding membership eligibility.
“We need money,” McDonald said when asked what supporters could do to help. “We need legal support and political support.”
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
Image “Laura McDonald” by Laura McDonald.
