University of Wyoming – Photo: uwyo.edu, Artemis Langford – Photo: Facebook
For the second time, a federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit from University of Wyoming sorority members who challenged the admission of a transgender woman, arguing that she did not meet the definition of the word “woman.”
“Having considered the issues presented (again), we find that the majority of the claims must be dismissed on the grounds that this Court still may not interfere with the sorority’s contractually valid interpretation of its own bylaws,” U.S. District Judge Alan Johnson wrote in his ruling.
The case began in 2023, when six members of the University of Wyoming’s Kappa Kappa Gamma chapter sued the sorority for admitting Artemis Langford, a transgender woman, and allowing her to use the campus house’s common areas — though not live there — according to Wyoming Public Media.
In their lawsuit, the sorority sisters claimed Kappa Kappa Gamma had breached its contract by admitting Langford, citing bylaws that refer to members as “woman” or “women” and asserting that transgender women are not women.
The invective-filled complaint also disparaged Langford’s appearance, misgendered her, accused her of having an angry glare, and even alleged she became aroused around sorority members — a claim disproven by text messages from other sisters entered into the court record, according to The Washington Post.
A few months later, Johnson dismissed the lawsuit, scolding the plaintiffs for devoting more space to personal attacks on Langford than to legal arguments, which filled only four-and-a-half pages of the lengthy complaint. He also called their arguments weak and inaccurate.
The plaintiffs appealed, but the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to hear the case in June 2024, sending it back to the lower court because Johnson’s ruling was not a final order. The dispute then stalled as the plaintiffs failed to act. In May, Johnson gave them a deadline to file an amended complaint or request a final ruling, according to WyoFile.
In June, a new set of plaintiffs filed an amended complaint but dropped Langford as a defendant. They pointed to Trump-era policies opposing transgender rights, including an executive order refusing to recognize transgender identity and an Education Department stance that Title IX protections against sex discrimination did not apply to gender identity. The plaintiffs argued that admitting transgender women undermines the very concept of single-sex organizations.
Separately, the Trump administration has sued the university, alleging it violated Title IX by allowing Langford to join the sorority.
Johnson rejected the sorority members’ arguments in an August 22 ruling, dismissing the lawsuit “with prejudice,” meaning it cannot be refiled. He also declined to impose a specific definition of what constitutes a “woman.”
“Nothing in the bylaws or the standing rules requires Kappa to narrowly define the words ‘women’ or ‘woman’ to include only those born with a certain set of reproductive organs, particularly when even the dictionary cited by Plaintiffs offers a more expansive definition,” Johnson wrote.
Johnson advised the plaintiffs that, rather than continue their lawsuit, they should “advocate for a new amendment to the Bylaws, defining the word ‘woman’ as they wish, which would restrain Kappa from choosing between various reasonable definitions of the term.”
He added: “If as many Kappa members are upset about the admission of transgender women members as Plaintiffs claim, this internal remedy should be more than sufficient to achieve their aims.”
Langford — who has since left Wyoming amid hostility and a wave of anti-transgender legislation passed by state lawmakers — told Wyoming Public Radio she received death threats after conservative outlets amplified the controversy over her membership. Some commentators even claimed Langford was “pretending” to be a woman or had joined for ulterior motives, such as sexually pursuing or creeping on her fellow sisters.
“This lawsuit ruins my life because the internet doesn’t die. It doesn’t forget,” Langford said. “Every day I woke up feeling like, ‘Oh, why does my mouth taste bad?’ And then realizing like, ‘Oh, my heart is racing and my mouth tastes like cotton. Oh, I’m having a panic attack.’ Like I’m waking up with a panic attack.”
But Langford also told Wyoming Public Radio she does not regret joining the sorority, despite the negativity directed at her.
“I still think that there’s immense value in Greek life, especially at the University of Wyoming,” she said. “I joined for a reason. There’s a sisterhood in sororities that you can’t really find anywhere else in 21st-century young adult life anymore. And I would absolutely say people should continue if they want that.”
Austin police are investigating whether an assault on a transgender woman and a male bystander at Barton Springs, a popular Austin swimming spot, was a hate crime. The incident occurred on July 26, when three men began flirting with the woman’s friends and then allegedly harassed her after she approached them.
"They said something along the lines of 'I don't support that lifestyle,' while pointing at me, which upset all three of us," said the transgender woman, whose name is being withheld for safety and privacy reasons, in an interview with the Houston Chronicle.
A federal judge has ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to immediately release Rickardo Anthony Kelly, a gay Jamaican asylum seeker who says he fears being killed if deported. U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres, of the Southern District of New York, ruled that ICE violated Kelly’s due process rights by detaining him on August 4 while he awaited a routine asylum appointment in New York City.
In an eight-page ruling issued on August 15, Torres cited legal precedent in affirming that the Fifth Amendment entitles noncitizens to due process of law, “whether their presence here is lawful, unlawful, temporary, or permanent.” She added that noncitizens are also entitled to challenge the legality of their detention through habeas corpus.
Loudoun County Public Schools will maintain its LGBTQ nondiscrimination policies -- including allowing transgender students to use facilities that match their gender identity -- despite threats of penalties from the U.S. Department of Education.
On August 12, after a closed session meeting, the Loudoun County School Board voted 6-3 to inform the Department of Education that while it was open to further discussion, it could not "at this time" agree to the changes the agency demanded, reports The Washington Post.
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
You must be logged in to post a comment.