Seven sorority members are suing the Kappa Kappa Gamma fraternity to challenge the induction of a transgender woman into the local chapter at the University of Wyoming.
The suit, filed Monday in the U.S. District Court in Cheyenne, claims that allowing the transgender woman — identified by the pseudonym Terry Smith — to be a member violates the Kappa Kappa Gamma bylaws, which state the sorority is a “single-gender” organization.
The women filed the suit anonymously against the Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity based in Ohio, President of the Fraternity Council of Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity Mary Pat Rooney, the Kappa Kappa Gamma Building Co. and Terry Smith.
The suit seeks to make Smith’s membership void and seeks unspecified damages.
Kappa Kappa Gamma said in a statement, “We are aware of the litigation filed in this case and intend to address it through the legal process. While we cannot comment in detail on this pending litigation, it contains numerous false allegations.”
The organization added that it “values diversity” and does not discriminate based on gender identity.
Kappa Kappa Gamma Housing Company, Rooney and Smith did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Lawyers were not listed in online court documents for the defendants.
Smith, 21, was inducted into the Kappa Kappa Gamma chapter at the University of Wyoming in the fall of 2022.
The lawsuit argues that the sorority followed a 2018 “Guide for Supporting Our LGBTQIA+ Members,” which stated that Kappa Kappa Gamma admits both “women and “individuals who identify as women” in accepting Smith’s membership.
The suit contends that the guide is an “unlawful abandonment of the sorority’s requirement for single-sex membership” and that the organization’s bylaws, standing rules and policies restrict membership to women and do not permit Smith’s membership.
“The Fraternity Council has betrayed the central purpose and mission of Kappa Kappa Gamma, by…
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