The lawsuit from a gay Atlanta man who hopes to show GAYPWR on his license plate has exposed dozens of queer-influenced vanity plate suggestions that the state has rejected. Georgia won’t do GAYSEX, but rejects STR8 hate, too.
From GAYGUY to GAYBOI, MSGAY, LEZI, AQUEER and BISEX, the Georgia Department of Driver Services has rejected them all. That prompted Cyrus Gilbert (second image), an Atlanta hair stylist, to sue on Jan. 11 over his requests for a vanity plate with 4GAYLIB, GAYPWR and GAYGUY. All three were denied and Gilbert’s lawsuit says that stifles his political and social speech and “reflects viewpoint discrimination” that violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
The 15-page federal lawsuit includes the state’s “Bad Tag List,” a 426-page collection of vanity plate suggestions that state officials have rejected. Among the thousands of denied requests are dozens that express pro-gay views and others that take on an anti-gay bent.
Vanity plates can include up to seven characters. Among the most popular LGBT suggestions are ones that include GAY. Nearly 50 are included in the state’s list of rejected suggestions, from rather bland declarations to more pointed sexual ones.
The good:
BEENGAY BENGAY BGAY BINGAY COPGAY GAYBLO GAYBOY GAYBRD GAYB0I GAYB0Y GAYCOP GAYDCVR GAYFCK GAYFK GAYFUK GAYFUX GAYGAL GAYGUY GAYING GAYLAY GAYLIB GAYMAN GAYPWR GAYRU GAYRYTS GAYS0K GAYSEX GAYSOK GAYSR0C GAYSR0K GAYTR GAYTR6 IMGAY LAGAY MSGAY NOTGAY PALGAY RUGAY RUGAY2 ROGAY SFGAY UBGAY USAGAY IMGAY 4GAYLIBAnd the bad:
GAYSCK GAYSUK GAYSUX IH8GAYSSome 15 lesbian suggestions have been requested (and rejected):
IGOTLEZ LEZBIUN LEZBN LEZBN14 LEZI LEZIUS TOPLEZ LESBAN LESBIAN LESBIE LESBIN LESBON LESBOS LESB1AN LESTUDSome queer ones, too.
AQUEER IQUEER QUEER1 QUEER2 QUEER3 QUEER4 QUEER5 QUEER6 QUEER7 QUEER8 QUEER9And let’s not miss out on BI pride (and hate), too:
ARABBI BIHATER BIH8TA BISEX BISEXE BISEX3And then there are the fags:
FAG FAGBAG FAGGOT FAGHAG FAGU2 FAG2 IH8FAGS IMAFAG PFAGS UFAGUIf GAY won’t pass the state’s muster, how about straight with a twist? Nah. Also rejected:
NOTSTR8License plate images via Buzzfeed
