HR-9701-119
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Sponsored by Ben Cline (R-VA)
What it does
This bill would amend the federal charter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution to add a statutory requirement that membership be limited to individuals who are "women," defined as adult human females based on reproductive biology, in addition to existing genealogical requirements. It would apply only to this one congressionally chartered organization's membership eligibility rules under its title 36 charter.
Who benefits
Members and leadership of the Daughters of the American Revolution who support restricting membership to those meeting the bill's biological definition of woman, and advocates who favor codifying sex-based definitions in federal statute as a broader policy matter.
Who is hurt
Transgender women who might otherwise seek membership based on gender identity rather than the bill's biological definition, and potentially intersex individuals whose eligibility could be affected by the specific biological criteria; the organization itself loses some autonomy to set its own membership criteria independent of federal statute.
Supporters argue
Supporters argue that Congress, having chartered the DAR under title 36, has authority and responsibility to ensure the organization's membership criteria are clearly and legally defined, and that codifying a biological definition of "woman" removes ambiguity and protects the organization's historic mission as a lineage society for female descendants of Revolutionary War patriots. They contend this matches the organization's own longstanding practice and prevents future disputes over eligibility.
Opponents argue
Opponents argue that Congress inserting a specific biological definition into a private organization's membership rules oversteps the traditional deference given to congressionally chartered groups to govern their own internal membership decisions, and that the DAR has never needed federal statute to define or defend its eligibility criteria. They contend the bill's definition targets transgender individuals specifically and uses federal law to settle a cultural dispute that has no bearing on the organization's charitable or historical purposes.
Constitutional context
Congress's authority to charter and structure organizations like the DAR derives from its general legislative powers rather than any single enumerated clause, but private organizations also retain First Amendment associational rights recognized in cases like Boy Scouts of America v. Dale (2000), which held that the government cannot force a private expressive association to accept members contrary to its own membership criteria.
Checks and balances
Congress would be exercising its legislative power to amend a federal charter, with no direct check other than the DAR's own ability to lobby against the change or challenge it in court on associational-rights grounds.
Historical precedent
Congress has previously amended federal charters of similar patriotic and lineage societies, but there is no clear precedent for Congress statutorily imposing a specific biological definition of sex on a chartered organization's membership criteria.