Judge tosses lawsuit challenging Wyoming sorority's induction of transgender student

Aug. 30 (UPI) -- A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the induction of a transgender woman at the University of Wyoming's Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.

U.S. District Judge Alan B. Johnson ruled on behalf of Artemis Langford and the sorority, stating the court would not define a woman since Kappa Kappa Gamma had failed to "expansively" define the gender in its bylaws.

"The University of Wyoming chapter voted to admit -- and, more broadly, a sorority of hundreds of thousands approved -- Langford," Johnson wrote in his 41-page ruling Friday.

"With its inquiry beginning and ending there, the court will not define 'woman' today. 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 ruling said.

The lawsuit, which was filed in March by six members of the sorority, claimed "Kappa Kappa Gamma limits membership to women only," but last fall "the sorority inducted a man, Terry Smith, as a member."

"Kappa Kappa Gamma was founded in 1870 as a single-sex organization for women, and it has consistently described itself as such," the lawsuit stated, adding that Langford's inclusion in the sorority made them feel uncomfortable and that they were "deprived of the all-female environment."

In June, chapter leaders filed a motion asking the district court to dismiss the lawsuit. Sorority council President Pat Rooney and the sorority's nonprofit organization cited court precedent -- in Kadel v. Falwell -- to reject the plaintiffs' claims that the term "woman" can only be interpreted to mean a person that is born biologically female.

"Kappa Kappa Gamma applauds the court's ruling in Wyoming upholding a private organization's right to choose their members," the sorority said in a statement. "We look forward to moving past this lawsuit so we can continue the important work being done every day on behalf of all of our members."