Sorority Alumnae Appeal Court Decision in Transgender Membership Lawsuit

Sorority alumnae have returned to federal court, asking judges to revive their lawsuit against Kappa Kappa Gamma after alleging the sorority’s national leadership improperly allowed a chapter to admit a transgender woman. The alumnae contend that this decision violates their rights to single-sex spaces and overrides local member consent.

Plaintiff Allie Coghan stated that while she has graduated, she hopes the appeal will establish a clear legal precedent protecting single-sex private spaces. "We were promised a sisterhood, and we were given a brother," Coghan said. "If Kappa wants to redefine the word woman to include men in the definition, that’s fine, but they have to go through the proper procedures to do so and allow members to vote, which they did not."

The legal dispute originated in 2022 when Artemis Langford, a transgender student, was admitted to the University of Wyoming chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma. Coghan alleged that Langford was admitted despite reservations from her and other sorority sisters, and that the chapter did not follow its normal voting procedures. Instead of the traditional recruitment application, Coghan said members were required to submit non-anonymous Google Forms. She also stated that members were pressured to vote in favor of admission, with officers allegedly telling members they would be labeled "transphobic" if they voted against it.

Attempts by members and parents to contact the national leadership of the organization were unsuccessful, with executives reportedly not answering phone calls and eventually stopping email responses. This led Coghan and several other sorority sisters to file a lawsuit.

US District Judge Alan B. Johnson initially dismissed the lawsuit, ruling that Kappa Kappa Gamma, as a private organization, could interpret its own membership requirements. However, the alumnae, supported by the Independent Women’s Law Center, appealed the ruling to the 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals. Oral arguments were heard in Denver on Monday.

Coghan described the situation within the sorority house as toxic, calling it a "political war zone." She noted that while Langford did not reside in the house, she was granted 24/7 access to living quarters and common rooms, including an area women had to pass to reach the showers. "The entire dynamic of the house completely shifted," Coghan said. "You would see him sitting in the common rooms upstairs, and girls have to walk past those rooms to get to the shower."

Coghan expressed a sense of duty to younger women, which motivates her continued involvement in the case. "I don’t understand how the feminist movement has shifted so much that it’s no longer pro-women, it’s pro-woman erasure," Coghan stated. "I hope that it will really set a standard of woman means woman. Woman does not mean man who thinks he is woman. Woman is not up for interpretation. A woman is an adult human female."

Another plaintiff, Hannah Holtmeier, shared similar concerns on a podcast, detailing how the chapter president allegedly told members that if they did not like the changes, they could drop out of the group. Holtmeier also described instances where sorority members acted as lookouts for one another when using the shower facilities to ensure the hallway was clear.

The three-judge panel of the 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals is now considering whether to overturn the lower court’s dismissal and allow the breach of contract lawsuit to proceed. The plaintiffs argue that the national leadership of the sorority cannot legally redefine core membership terms, such as the definition of "woman," without a formal member vote or a bylaws amendment. Fox News Digital reached out to Kappa Kappa Gamma for comment but did not immediately receive a response.