Trans Student Who Joined Sorority Sues Lawyers of Plaintiffs

AP Photo/Armando Franca

A transgender student who was admitted into the University of Wyoming chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority is suing the lawyers of female sorority sisters who sued for his removal. 

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In March 2023, seven of his sorority sisters sued Kappa Kappa Gamma and its president Mary Pat Rooney. They argued that admitting Artemis Langford violated the national sorority's corporate charter. KKG called the claims "baseless and the litigation frivolous" in its response on June 21, 2023. The sorority filed a motion to dismiss. Langford was named as a defendant because the case revolved around his membership. 

In the lawsuit filed by the sorority sisters, Langford was  labeled “Terry Smith” and the women were called "Jane Does." 

Now Langford is suing two local lawyers who represented the sorority sisters. 

Now a year after that litigation started, Langford has alleged abuse of process, malicious prosecution, intrusion upon seclusion, and intentional infliction of emotional distress against the women’s legal team in a new lawsuit. He argued that the women weaponized “the legal system to publicly bully and humiliate” him, “while seeking donations to pay for their own attorney fees.” For these alleged abuses by the local Wyoming lawyers, John Knepper and Casandra Craven, Langford requests punitive damages.

Langford complained that the women’s lawsuit attempted “to spark public outrage at Ms. Langford’s expense” by including allegedly irrelevant descriptions of his height (6’2”), weight (260 pounds), and masculine appearance. The original lawsuit also claimed he had taken no steps to transition, an “inaccurate suggestion” according to the complaint.

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This case hit me the wrong way from the beginning. Sororities are for women. If Langford wanted the experience of Greek life on campus, there were fraternities for men. Sororities that allow trans students to be admitted are the same as college athletic departments that allow men to compete in women's sports. It's wrong. It's ok to have single-sex spaces and sororities are one of those spaces. This guy was granted permission to move into the sorority house. 

The women who filed a lawsuit to prevent his membership were not comfortable with him hanging out at the sorority house before he moved in. He was 21 years old, 6 feet 2 inches tall, and weighed 260 pounds. The legal document said that “No other member of Kappa Kappa Gamma has comparable size or strength.” He had a profile on Tinder that stated he seeks to meet women and the lawsuit claimed he is "sexually interested in women."

Langford wrote for the Branding Iron, a local publication. When he was accepted into the sorority he spoke about breaking a glass ceiling. When he spoke out, he violated a rule that prohibits members from communicating with the press.   

He had not surgically transitioned and the women complained that he stared at them and became noticeably sexually aroused.  

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At the time of the complaint, Langford still carried a driver’s license that identified him as a male, wore women’s clothing only occasionally, and refrained from treatments such as hormone therapy, feminization surgery, and laser hair removal, according to the plaintiffs in the original suit. The female students also accused Langford of becoming visibly aroused in the presence of other KKG members, which his complaint called a “discredited, drunken rumor.”

Langford is upset that the women went public and raised money for their legal action while garnering public support. Never mind that Langford was busy creating his public profile.

Langford spent a week with the Washington Post working on an expansive profile piece discrediting the women’s concerns. The piece suggested that the media outcry over Langford’s admission had created a threatening environment that made it prudent for him to acquire a gun and prepare a “go bag” to flee at a moment’s notice.

Langford claims he was endangered because the women used his real name in their complaint. That decision was made by the judge, though. Langford put his name in public when he spoke to the Branding Iron. 

The Court ruled that the woman’s request for anonymity was inappropriate, given that the case “did not involve matters of a highly sensitive and personal nature or a real danger of physical harm.” When the women filed their updated complaint on April 20, the male in KKG was already known as Artemis Langford due to his Branding Iron interview. With already significant public awareness, the attorneys dropped his and the women’s pseudonyms.

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Ugh. The message to women fighting these battles is to sit down, shut up, and just take it. Where are the feminists? Liberal women have spent decades trashing men and denouncing the patriarchy yet they are silent as men move into women's spaces. In this case, parents have to make the case that their girls are not safe as they are caught up in transgender activism and men who want to invade their living quarters.  

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