Kappa Kappa Gamma files lawsuit in Federal Court in Denver over transgender woman's admission into Wyoming sorority

Six sorority sisters say their college sorority violated their rights by allowing a transgender woman to join their private club at the University of Wyoming. Federal appellate court judges expressed doubt Tuesday about whether they could rule or if a lower court should continue to hear the case.  

"The court did not want to address what is a woman because they know what it is, so the court was trying to find small reasons to not hear this case," said Lead Counsel, May Mailman.

Artemis Langford is attending Wyoming's only four-year public university.  The lawsuit involving Langford has drawn widespread attention as transgender people fight for more acceptance in schools, athletics, workplaces, and elsewhere, while others push back.  

"Women's spaces should be protected period,"  said Hannah Holtmeier, one of the six plaintiffs outside court Tuesday.

Jaylyn Westenbroek is another plaintiff who said, "We were told to leave if we were uncomfortable. It is not ok for someone to tell you to leave your own home in order to feel comfortable."

Kappa Kappa Gamma's national chapter told CBS News Colorado, "We will continue to vigorously defend against attempts by plaintiffs to use the judicial system to take away a private organization's fundamental rights and cause lasting damage to individuals and to our membership. We are confident the federal court will uphold the decisive ruling of a federal judge in Wyoming and bring a swift resolution to this matter." 

Last summer, U.S. District Judge Alan Johnson in Cheyenne dismissed the case without prejudice in a ruling that suggested the lawsuit could be refiled in his court. 

The argument that a court should be able to tell a private organization how to define a woman flies in the face of conservative skepticism about big government, the Wyoming LGBTQ+ advocacy group Wyoming Equality told the Associated Press in a statement.