Judge Tosses UW Sorority Lawsuit Again, Says Group Can Admit Transgender Women

Nearly two years after a University of Wyoming sorority was first sued for admitting a transgender student, a federal judge has once again ruled the case has no legs.

On Friday, US District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson dismissed the lawsuit filed against Kappa Kappa Gamma, the sorority that welcomed student Artemis Langford back in 2022. His reasoning? Same as before: as a private organization, Kappa has the right to decide who gets in — including transgender women.

“In short, we are required to leave Kappa alone,” Johnson wrote in his order.

The case began in 2023, when six sorority members accused Kappa of breaking its bylaws and misleading members about admitting Langford. The lawsuit quickly became national news, amplified by conservative media outlets. Even the Trump administration jumped in, launching a Title IX investigation into the University of Wyoming.

Johnson threw the case out last August, saying the government couldn’t meddle with membership decisions in a private group. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals briefly revived the matter in 2024, but only on a technicality, sending it back to the lower court.

This summer, three new plaintiffs — all former UW students — filed a fresh complaint, dropping Langford as a defendant but sticking with similar claims. Still, Johnson wasn’t swayed. He ruled that Kappa hadn’t violated its own rules, since nothing in the sorority’s bylaws requires excluding transgender women.

The plaintiffs also pointed to a recent Trump administration order that defines “woman” strictly in biological terms. Johnson brushed that aside:

“It only applies to the Executive Branch’s interpretation of federal laws and administration policy. It is not relevant in the world of private contracts.”

This time, Johnson dismissed the case with prejudice, which means the same arguments can’t be brought back to his courtroom. An appeal is still possible, but he also suggested a simpler route: if members don’t like Kappa’s inclusive policy, they can push to change the bylaws at the sorority’s conventions.

“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,” Johnson wrote.

The original story by Jeremy Downing for Wyoming News Now.