Ohio man William Saki took legal action against the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) after he was told the word “gay” had been banned on custom plates since 1996.

“Gay is who I am — it’s a fact and I’m proud of that,” he told News 5 Cleveland WEWS.

“To know the state was saying ‘no, we don’t like that plate, it’s offensive to us’ — that’s my free speech they’re messing with at that point.”

Mr Saki took legal action alongside Cyrus Mahdavi, who was similarly refused a plate reading “MUSLIM”.

The BMV agreed to review the list of banned words as part of a settlement agreed with court assistance days after the lawsuit was filed.

Brian D. Bardwell of Speech Law LLC, attorney for Mr Saki and Mr Mahdavi, said: “Judge Polster saw right through the BMV’s attempts to silence drivers it doesn’t agree with and ordered them to get back in line with the First Amendment.

“We’re incredibly grateful that he was able to reach a quick decision reaffirming Mr Saki’s inalienable right to tell the truth about who he is, even when the governor doesn’t approve.

“We’re excited to see the BMV pull its act together, and we’ll be watching to make sure it doesn’t stray from the judge’s orders.”

Mr Saki has now received the plate and installed it on his Honda Accord.