Current and former members of the national sorority Kappa Kappa Gamma (KKG) are embroiled in an anti-transgender lawsuit that has been transferred back to an Ohio federal court.
The suit was first filed in January 2024 in the U.S. District Court Southern District of Ohio by two alumni members of the Columbus-based Greek organization: Patsy Levang of North Dakota and Cheryl Tuck-Smith of Wyoming.
In the lawsuit, Levang and Tuck-Smith claim the 156-year-old sorority discriminated against them by revoking their membership after they openly voiced their opposition to KKG’s trans-inclusive policy and supported a separate anti-transgender lawsuit filed in Wyoming.
National leadership dismissed the pair in October 2023, following decades of membership, after it was determined they had violated the group’s Human Dignity Policy by using internal KKG communications lists to send anti-transgender emails soliciting financial support for the plaintiffs.
The suit demands KKG replace current national leadership panel members and reinstate their individual memberships.
Initially filed in Columbus, the case was transferred to the U.S. District Court of Wyoming as a result of its connection to the Wyoming case, but has been transferred back to Ohio and will appear before a federal judge.
Levang, Tuck-Smith and four other plaintiffs are represented by anti-transgender attorney May Mailman, who currently serves as director of the Independent Women’s Law Center (IWLC) – an offshoot of Independent Women’s Forum (IWF), a far-right, anti-feminist group affiliated with former collegiate swimmer and high profile anti-transgender activist Riley Gaines.
Westenbroek v. Kappa Kappa Gamma
In March 2023, six members of KKG’s University of Wyoming chapter sued the sorority for accepting transgender member Artemis Langford.
Plaintiffs Jaylyn Westenbroek, Hannah Holtmeier, Allison Coghan, Grace Choate, Madeline Ramar and Megan Kosar alleged the organization breached organizational bylaws and “changed the definition of membership” by allowing Langford to join the organization’s ranks.
KKG leadership defended the decision.
“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,” KKG’s national chapter told CBS News Colorado in May.
In August, U.S. District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson dismissed the case, which was upheld on appeal. Plaintiffs then submitted a second appeal, which is currently pending before the U.S. 10th District Court of Appeals.
Anti-transgender attorney on the case
Both sets of plaintiffs are represented in part by Mailman, who worked as a policy advisor under President Donald Trump’s administration between January and August 2025.
It has been widely reported that she was the primary author of Trump’s 2025 executive order declaring “only two sexes, male and female.” 🔥
Ignite Action
- If you are a young LGBTQ+ person in crisis, please contact the Trevor Project: 866-4-U-Trevor.
- If you are an transgender adult in need of immediate help, contact the National Trans Lifeline: 877-565-8860
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