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Man sues Georgia for GAYGUY license tag

Associated Press

Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2013 7:45 AM

Last updated 8:08 PM

Comments (16)

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ATLANTA — An Atlanta man is suing the Georgia Department of Driver Services, contending that his rights were violated when the state rejected his application for vanity plates making reference to his sexual orientation.

James Cyrus Gilbert maintains in the lawsuit that state officials rejected his application for the tags 4GAYLIB, GAYPWR and GAYGUY.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that all three vanity plates are on the list of vanity plates banned by the state, although the state has approved plates expressing some political or religious expressions.

Gilbert said he wasn’t asking for a plate that was vulgar or “over the top.”

Representatives of the state Attorney General’s office, Georgia Department of Driver Services and the Department of Revenue, the agency that administers vanity plates, declined to comment on the lawsuit.

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I'm Back Again 01/22/13 - 09:01 am

Well it's vulgar to me, so

Unpublished

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MarinerMan 01/22/13 - 09:22 am

There Are More Important Things

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grinder48 01/22/13 - 09:58 am

Solution

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SFCRET85 01/22/13 - 10:04 am

Wasted Taxes?

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I'm Back Again 01/22/13 - 10:30 am

I'm going to guess that the person applying for a vanity tag such as this already has some indication on his car that the owner is gay..
as far as what's on a tag, I really don't care.. wonder if they'd stop someone from getting one that said sikduk? just sayin..

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dichotomy 01/22/13 - 11:42 am

None of those plates appear

None of those plates appear to be offensive to me. Let him have them.

I might want my AR154U plate one day. Keeps tailgaters at bay.

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my.voice 01/22/13 - 12:09 pm

The State was right in

The State was right in denying this. Its for the greater good, and certainly for HIS OWN GOOD. And if he was somehow harmed by having the license plat, GUESS WHO WOULD BE SUING THE STATE? Yup, him.

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soitgoes 01/22/13 - 01:14 pm

You go, guy!

GAYGUY is totally innocuous. Short for "HAPPYGUY"...?

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Fiat_Lux 01/22/13 - 02:09 pm

Let him have it,

and let him live with the consequences. Just have him sign a waiver about ever suing the state over the tag he choose.

Still, you'd think an adult would have better insight and more highly-developed protective instincts, but what the heck. It's always nice to be warned about who is on the road ahead.

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GiantsAllDay 01/22/13 - 03:00 pm

I don't have personalized

I don't have personalized tags because 1) they are pointless 2) when you see my tag when you're out driving I want you to glance at it, en forget about it 3) any tag that portrays you're personal beliefs can make you a target in the wrong location.

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itsanotherday1 01/22/13 - 03:54 pm

I agree wit GAD that I don't

I agree wit GAD that I don't want vanity plates. Somewhere, somebody is going to have a different view and possibly cause you some aggravation over it.

That said, sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. Absent something that is patently vulgar, give them what they want.

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Just My Opinion 01/22/13 - 06:06 pm

I personally think he's just

I personally think he's just asking for trouble...but that's his problem, not mine. I have more of a problem with the vulgar bumper stickers that I see. I'm not kidding about this one...I actually saw one that read "More sucking, less fighting!" and it had the gay male symbol beside it! Now, please tell me how we're supposed to react to that? Are we just supposed to ignore it? Can we call the police about it? It is OBVIOUSLY over the top and meant to offend people. What do you say if your mother or child is in the car with you and they read that? Don't tell me "these people" don't want to push the limits of "free speech". This is just an example of what is out there...it's not all Gay-driven, of course. There are some from just about every group imaginable. Bottom line question...are we allowed to call the police and report these? I'd really like to know.

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dstewartsr 01/22/13 - 06:26 pm

"... are we allowed to call the police

... and report these? I'd really like to know."

Perhaps in Grovetown; it appears the cops haven't anything else to do. Though why it takes 25 minutes to get one to respond is unclear. Maybe wrong last name?

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dstewartsr 01/22/13 - 06:30 pm

"... for HIS OWN GOOD..."

Three of the scariest words that can be spoken in earnest in a democracy; followed by, "for the children" and "I'm from the government to help you."

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r 01/22/13 - 06:53 pm

Give him the tag!!!!

Who cares I have see far more stupid things. I would think the only person it could cause harm to is himself if he runs across some who hates gays.

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TrukinRanger 01/22/13 - 07:55 pm

His choices of plates are not

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OpenCurtain 01/23/13 - 08:31 am

Open the door a crack and

you open a door none the less.

Think of the next lawsuit demanding the right to other sexual theme tags.

We all could produce a long list of 4 to 8 letter tags,
but the Chronicle would be within its EULA to deleted the post.

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Techfan 01/23/13 - 08:53 am

The AJC has a much better

The AJC has a much better report on this. The problem is that choices are thrown out arbitrarily. Example: HATERS was approved. HATERS1 was denied. I say go back to random letters and numbers and you get the next tag in the stack and only have a county sticker, no other choices.

http://www.ajc.com/news/news/isue4u-state-sued-over-banned-vanity-plates...