STATESBORO, Ga. (AP) – A gay student at Georgia Southern University was targeted by a vandal who spray-painted “fag” and “queer” on his car, the Statesboro Herald reported.

The crime happened just days after the state’s Supreme Court threw out a four-year-old hate crimes law, saying it was overbroad.

Joseph Buckel, 18, told police that when he went outside to his car on Halloween morning it was painted with derogatory words. Someone tagged the gold car with black spray paint.

In addition to the epithets, someone wrote “God Save You” across his car.

“I was shocked,” he said. “I’ve never had to deal with anything like this. And, I was angry.”

Statesboro Police wrote up the crime as “criminal trespass” because the hate crimes law was tossed less than a week before the Statesboro spray-painting incident.

The court ruled 7-0 that Georgia’s hate crime law was too vague. Forty-eight states have hate crimes laws on the books, but Georgia’s was the only one that didn’t explain who exactly was protected. Instead, Georgia’s law called for tougher penalties when “discrimination” could be shown. Judges said that was too vague.

Statesboro Police Lt. Frank Roach said the ruling explains the trespassing charge.

“That’s why there was no hate crime charge – there is no hate crime law,” he told the Statesboro Herald.

DeMarc Campbell, founder and president of the Gay/Straight Alliance at Georgia Southern University, said he has never experienced such a hateful incident in Statesboro, and he’s been a resident of the area for three years.

Statesboro is “kind of live-and-let-live, where everybody worries about their own business,” he said. “That’s why this disturbs me.”

A local auto body shop removed the ugly words for free. Buckel thanked the auto shop workers but said he’s still disturbed by anti-gay sentiments.

“I didn’t choose to be this way,” he said. “I would never choose to be a minority to where hate crimes take place.”