A Wyoming judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by members of a sorority who sought to block transgender student Artemis Langford (a biological man) they allege is a "sexual predator," from joining Kappa Kappa Gamma.
Since the sorority’s bylaws do not define what a woman is, U.S. District Court Judge Alan Johnson ruled he could not move forward with the suit.
“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," the judge wrote.
Six members of the university’s Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority filed the lawsuit in March against the national sorority organization, its national council president, and Langford — who joined their chapter in September 2022.
The sorority members were seeking to have a judge void Langford’s Kappa Kappa Gamma membership and award unspecified damages. […]
The lawsuit alleged that members felt uneasy around Langford — identified under the male pseudonym Terry Smith in the suit — with one member allegedly witnessing Langford get physically aroused.
“Mr. Smith has, while watching members enter the sorority house, had an erection visible through his leggings,” the suit claimed. “Other times, he has had a pillow in his lap.” (New York Post)
As Madeline reported in May, one of the sorority members told Megyn Kelly on her podcast that certain women in the house “live in constant fear” when the transgender member is there.
“It’s also really uncomfortable just because some of the girls in the house, I know they’ve been sexually assaulted or sexually harassed. So, some girls live in constant fear in their home,” one of the women explained. “Men are never allowed on the second floor of our house except for move-in and move-out to help us lift heavy things upstairs.”
Another member claimed Langford "has gotten preferential treatment, every turn of the way." She said he "still comes to the house, still engages in dinners, still sits in the chair and watches the girls. All of the things that are not appropriate in light of what’s occurring here."
Langford's attorney Rachel Berkness celebrated the judge's ruling.
“The allegations against Ms. Langford should never have made it into a legal filing,” Berkness told the Associated Press. in an email. “They are nothing more than cruel rumors that mirror exactly the type of rumors used to vilify and dehumanize members of the LGBTQIA+ community for generations. And they are baseless."
Cassie Craven, an attorney for the Kappa Kappa Gamma sisters, argued "women have a biological reality that deserves to be protected and recognized," and said they will "continue to fight for that right..."
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