The US Department of Agriculture declined a Georgia cattle farmer Gene King’s application for a special interstate transport license because his address included “a banned word.”
“No one’s got a problem coming to Gay, Georgia. I don’t have a problem living in Gay, Georgia. But the USDA’s got a problem with Gay, Georgia,” King said in an interview.
Moreover, King admitted that the name can be quite confusing when used in a typical conversation.
“I have gay friends.”
“Here in Gay, Georgia?”
“No, not in Gay, Georgia.”
“You have gay friends outside of Gay.”
Earlier this month, Gene applied for a special ID through the USDA called a Premises Number. That enables him to purchase and sell cattle across state lines. He finished the form and requested to check on his status.
“She said it’s kicking it out saying that’s an offensive word and won’t accept your application,” King said.
Because of the banned word, the USDA emailed back with a workaround. Change Gene’s hometown on the application from Gay to Bay. However, King did not agree.
