Sorority Members to Appeal Ruling in Transgender Lawsuit

The decision to admit a transgender individual, Artemis Langford, into the University of Wyoming chapter. According to the sisters, Langford "invaded their privacy and 'caused emotional distress' by engaging in 'inappropriate and odd behavior' in their house," as reported by The New York Sun.

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The harassment didn't stop there. The biological man allegedly photographed the young women without their consent, asked questions about sex and their genitalia, and displayed erections while staring at them. Now, the sorority sisters are appealing a previous court's dismissal of their lawsuit.


The lower court ruled in favor of the sorority leaders, allowing them the right to define “woman" more broadly to include transgender women. In presiding over the case, Judge Alan Johnson emphasized the sorority's autonomy as a private organization, stating that defining “woman” falls within their purview. “Defining ‘woman’ is Kappa Kappa Gamma’s bedrock right as a private, voluntary organization and one this Court may not invade,” he wrote. To summarize, the judge and the sorority leaders failed the sorority sisters, who asked for protection from a man who infiltrated their spaces.

Ed Morrissey

Is the real issue here whether KKG has the right to make that policy -- or whether they can be held responsible for making that policy? This is an interesting case, in that it involves a private organization rather than a school or government office. Kappa Kappa Gamma's national leadership made the decision to allow biological males into its sororities and their residential facilities, with an obvious outcome almost immediately occurring. 

The best response would be to have KKG chapters close and re-affiliate with competing sorority orgs with more sense. But still, a private action over the impacts suffered by the women being put in this position certainly is not mooted by the decision itself. The lawsuit should be revived and put before a jury not to direct KKG to change its policy, but to hold them responsible for the consequences of their choices. 

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