Sorority alumni appeal to revive lawsuit over transgender chapter member

Two former members of Kappa Kappa Gamma have asked the 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals to revive a lawsuit they filed after the sorority’s national office allowed a transgender woman, referred to as Langford, to join their chapter. Alumnae Allie Coghan and Hannah Holtmeier contend that the chapter’s standard recruitment app was bypassed and members were forced to vote via non-anonymous Google Forms, with pressure to avoid being labeled "transphobic."

They maintain that the national leadership ignored requests from members and parents, and that any redefinition of "woman" must be approved by a member vote or bylaw change. US District Judge Alan B. Johnson had previously dismissed the case, ruling that a private organization can set its own membership criteria. The appeal, supported by the Independent Women’s Law Center, was heard in Denver, where the three-judge panel will decide if the lower court’s dismissal should be overturned.