University of Wyoming Sorority Members Appeal Lawsuit Over Transgender Member’s Admission
Members of the University of Wyoming’s Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority have taken their lawsuit to a US appeals court, challenging the admission of a transgender-identifying individual into their chapter. The move follows the dismissal of their initial lawsuit by a Wyoming judge last year.
The original lawsuit centered around the admission of Artemis Langford into the sorority, a biological man who identifies as a woman. The plaintiffs argued that Langford’s presence in the sorority house had made them uncomfortable, and they claimed their concerns were disregarded by the sorority’s leadership after the local chapter voted to admit Langford.
Wyoming U.S. District Judge Alan Johnson previously ruled in favor of the sorority and Langford, noting that the sorority’s bylaws do not define what constitutes a woman.
However, the appeal, which was filed by six sorority members, argues that Judge Johnson failed to consider whether the sorority leadership acted in bad faith by ignoring the members’ concerns.
One of the attorneys for the appellants, May Mailman, emphasized that the case extends beyond the definition of a woman.
“Plaintiffs allege directors of Kappa Kappa Gamma unilaterally changed the nature of the organization by adding a category of members… in bad faith,” claimed Mailman.
Mailman pointed out that the students allege the sorority chapter altered its new-member voting procedures from anonymous to public, purportedly to pressure and bully those who opposed having a trans-identifying member.
Among those present at the appeals court on Tuesday was former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines, who has been a strong advocate for protecting women’s spaces from biological men who identify as female.
“Today is the day! In Denver for oral arguments with the UofWyoming girls who are suing their sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma, for admitting a man into their sorority/sorority house,” Gaines said in a post on X. “Sororities are exclusively for WOMEN. Let’s gooooo!!”
