A Georgia man is suing the state’s driver services department, saying it violated his constitutional rights by denying his application for a vanity license plate reading: “4GAYLIB,” “GAYPWR” or “GAYGUY.”
Atlanta resident James Cyrus Gilbert told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he was not asking for something “vulgar or over the top” when he made the request in his vanity plate application. These three combinations are on a list banned by Georgia, the newspaper reported. However, the state has reportedly approved plates with some political or religious expressions in the past.
“Denying someone the right to put gay on their tag, that’s political,” Gilbert told the Journal-Constitution. “If I want I could get a tag that said straight man, but because it had gay on it, it’s not available.”
The lawsuit, filed against the commissioner of the Georgia Department of Driver Services, seeks approval for the requested vanity plate, nominal damages and attorney fees, as well as a court order saying the state regulation for vanity plates is unconstitutional, the newspaper reported

