A judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by sorority members at the University of Wyoming to block a transgender woman from joining..The University of Wyoming was being sued by a group of sorority sisters over the university’s acceptance of a biological man, who identifies as a woman, into their sorority..In the suit, seven women from the Kappa Kappa Gamma (KKG) sorority house said they “live in constant fear in our home,” alleging the biological male, Artemis Langford, who is 21, stands 6-ft. 2-ins and weighs 260-lbs., has become physically aroused around them, reports the New York Post..READ MORE: Lawsuit filed after trans male member of sorority house causes chaos.According to media reports, since the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority bylaws do not define what a 'woman' is, Wyoming US District Judge Alan Johnson ruled he could not proceed with the lawsuit..He then dismissed the matter on Friday, according to reports..“With its inquiry beginning and ending there, the court will not define a ‘woman’ today,” Johnson wrote..Johnson ruled a federal court could not interfere with the sorority chapter’s freedom of association by ruling against its vote to induct trans student Artemis Langford last year, reports The New York Post..Langford, who is referred to as Terry Smith and called 'he' and 'him' in the suit, joined the sorority last September. He lives outside the sorority house but intends to move in sometime this year, according to Cowboy State Daily..“The University of Wyoming chapter voted to admit — and, more broadly, a sorority of hundreds of thousands approved — Langford,” Johnson wrote in his ruling..“The delegate of a private, voluntary organization interpreted ‘woman,’ otherwise undefined in the nonprofit’s bylaws, expansively; this Judge may not invade Kappa Kappa Gamma’s freedom of expressive association and inject the circumscribed definition Plaintiffs urge.”.One of the students said she almost decided to leave the sorority because of the issue, according to The Post..“But I reconnected with fellow sisters and alumni and I realized how important this organization is to me and to everybody else. And I refuse to allow subverting my rights as a woman to cater to the comfort of a man. I will not let him take these opportunities away from me,” she said..Rachel Berkness, Langford’s attorney, welcomed the court’s ruling..“The allegations against Ms. Langford should never have made it into a legal filing,” Berkness said in an email to the Associated Press..“They are nothing more than cruel rumours that mirror exactly the type of rumours used to vilify and dehumanize members of the LGBTQIA+ community for generations. And they are baseless.".In the suit, the plaintiffs maintain the national KKG sorority, its national council president and Langford put pressure on the Wyoming chapter to breach sorority rules, claiming a 2018 Guide for Supporting Our LGBTQIA+ Members indicates the sorority is a ‘single-gender’ organization..Now, the suit has been dismissed..The sorority members were seeking to have a judge void Langford’s Kappa Kappa Gamma membership and award unspecified damages..Kari Kittrell Poole, the executive director of the sorority, told the Associated Press in May the lawsuit “contains numerous false allegations” without specifying them..Cassie Craven, an attorney representing the sorority sisters, said her clients disagree with the ruling — and, more importantly, that the sorority chapter lacks a proper definition of who should be classified as a woman..It’s unclear if Kappa Kappa Gamma plans on changing its bylaws to adequately define what a woman is for potential issues in the future.
A judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by sorority members at the University of Wyoming to block a transgender woman from joining..The University of Wyoming was being sued by a group of sorority sisters over the university’s acceptance of a biological man, who identifies as a woman, into their sorority..In the suit, seven women from the Kappa Kappa Gamma (KKG) sorority house said they “live in constant fear in our home,” alleging the biological male, Artemis Langford, who is 21, stands 6-ft. 2-ins and weighs 260-lbs., has become physically aroused around them, reports the New York Post..READ MORE: Lawsuit filed after trans male member of sorority house causes chaos.According to media reports, since the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority bylaws do not define what a 'woman' is, Wyoming US District Judge Alan Johnson ruled he could not proceed with the lawsuit..He then dismissed the matter on Friday, according to reports..“With its inquiry beginning and ending there, the court will not define a ‘woman’ today,” Johnson wrote..Johnson ruled a federal court could not interfere with the sorority chapter’s freedom of association by ruling against its vote to induct trans student Artemis Langford last year, reports The New York Post..Langford, who is referred to as Terry Smith and called 'he' and 'him' in the suit, joined the sorority last September. He lives outside the sorority house but intends to move in sometime this year, according to Cowboy State Daily..“The University of Wyoming chapter voted to admit — and, more broadly, a sorority of hundreds of thousands approved — Langford,” Johnson wrote in his ruling..“The delegate of a private, voluntary organization interpreted ‘woman,’ otherwise undefined in the nonprofit’s bylaws, expansively; this Judge may not invade Kappa Kappa Gamma’s freedom of expressive association and inject the circumscribed definition Plaintiffs urge.”.One of the students said she almost decided to leave the sorority because of the issue, according to The Post..“But I reconnected with fellow sisters and alumni and I realized how important this organization is to me and to everybody else. And I refuse to allow subverting my rights as a woman to cater to the comfort of a man. I will not let him take these opportunities away from me,” she said..Rachel Berkness, Langford’s attorney, welcomed the court’s ruling..“The allegations against Ms. Langford should never have made it into a legal filing,” Berkness said in an email to the Associated Press..“They are nothing more than cruel rumours that mirror exactly the type of rumours used to vilify and dehumanize members of the LGBTQIA+ community for generations. And they are baseless.".In the suit, the plaintiffs maintain the national KKG sorority, its national council president and Langford put pressure on the Wyoming chapter to breach sorority rules, claiming a 2018 Guide for Supporting Our LGBTQIA+ Members indicates the sorority is a ‘single-gender’ organization..Now, the suit has been dismissed..The sorority members were seeking to have a judge void Langford’s Kappa Kappa Gamma membership and award unspecified damages..Kari Kittrell Poole, the executive director of the sorority, told the Associated Press in May the lawsuit “contains numerous false allegations” without specifying them..Cassie Craven, an attorney representing the sorority sisters, said her clients disagree with the ruling — and, more importantly, that the sorority chapter lacks a proper definition of who should be classified as a woman..It’s unclear if Kappa Kappa Gamma plans on changing its bylaws to adequately define what a woman is for potential issues in the future.
