FIX EXCLUSIVES
Decision will determine whether women can form groups ‘exclusively for women,’ expert says
Members of the University of Wyoming’s Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority recently returned to federal court to challenge national leaders’ decision to admit a transgender woman to the sorority, arguing they violated the sorority’s bylaws.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in Denver, Colorado, heard oral arguments in the ongoing lawsuit, which began in 2023 after the university’s chapter admitted a transgender woman in the fall 2022 term, according to the Independent Women’s Forum.
During oral arguments, attorney Angela Lavin, representing the plaintiffs, argued that the sorority’s governing council does not have the authority to change the meaning of its membership requirements without approval from members.
Attorney Natalie McLaughlin, representing Kappa Kappa Gamma, argued that the organization’s governing documents give its leadership the authority to interpret the bylaws.
The three-judge panel questioned both attorneys about the organization’s governing authority and the interpretation of its membership requirements, according to Cowboy State Daily.
The dispute centers on whether Kappa Kappa Gamma’s national leadership has the authority to interpret the word “woman” in its bylaws to include transgender women without a vote by the organization’s membership. The sorority’s bylaws state that a “new member shall be a woman.”
Beth Parlato, senior legal counsel for Independent Women, told The College Fix that the sorority’s status as a private organization does not exempt its leadership from following its own governing rules.
She added that Kappa Kappa Gamma’s leadership does not have the authority to ignore its own bylaws or redefine a women’s sorority simply because it’s a private organization.
“Members joined an organization founded by women, for women, with the expectation that its leadership would honor that commitment,” Parlato said. “Judicial deference should not become a shield for leadership to violate the rights of its own members.”
Parlato said her legal team hopes the appeals court upholds the responsibility of private organizations to enforce their governing documents and membership agreements.
However, the “case is about more than interpreting bylaws,” she said.
“It is about whether women can rely on the rules of an organization they voluntarily joined and whether leadership can unilaterally strip away the very protections and opportunities that organization was created to provide,” Parlato said.
She added that the outcome could have broader implications for female-only private organizations beyond Kappa Kappa Gamma.
“If the dismissal is upheld, it sends a dangerous message that leadership can disregard the wishes of its female members and eliminate single-sex protections without accountability,” she said.
A ruling in favor of the sorority members at the University of Wyoming would “reaffirm that women have the right to form and maintain organizations exclusively for women.”
“Sororities were created to provide women with sisterhood, privacy, and opportunities for leadership. Women should not have to fight in court to preserve what a women’s organization was established to be,” Parlato said.
In a statement provided to The College Fix, the national Kappa Kappa Gamma group defended its position following the September hearing.
“Kappa Kappa Gamma defended in the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in Colorado our right as a private organization to interpret our bylaws,” spokesperson Kristin Sangid said.
“We will continue to vigorously defend against attempts by plaintiffs to use the judicial system to take away a private organization’s fundamental right to govern itself and cause lasting damage to our organization,” she told The Fix.
The organization also said it was confident the appellate court would uphold the Wyoming federal court’s ruling and bring a swift resolution to the case.
Kappa Kappa Gamma did not directly address questions from The College Fix regarding potential changes to its membership policies or how it responds to members who oppose the inclusion of transgender women.
The plaintiffs’ attorneys have emphasized that the case concerns more than the admission of a transgender member.
In an Oct. 5 statement, the law firm Wegman Hessler, which represents the plaintiffs, said the central legal issue is whether an organization’s governing board can make significant changes affecting its membership without obtaining approval from members.
The firm said the appeal challenges the council’s authority to expand the organization’s historical interpretation of the word “woman” without a membership vote.
The lawsuit was originally filed in March 2023 by members of the University of Wyoming chapter who opposed the admission of a transgender woman. The plaintiffs alleged that national leadership failed to uphold the sorority’s membership requirements.
In August 2025, U.S. District Judge Alan Johnson dismissed the plaintiffs’ amended complaint, ruling that the organization has the authority to interpret its governing documents, The College Fix previously reported.
According to the court’s ruling, the sorority’s bylaws and standing rules did not require the organization to define women exclusively on the basis of biological sex.
The plaintiffs appealed that decision, bringing the case back before the Tenth Circuit.
The Tenth Circuit has not yet issued a ruling on the latest appeal. Its decision could determine whether the plaintiffs’ claims are allowed to proceed or whether the lower court’s dismissal will stand.
