Tenn. judge changes infant's name from Messiah to Martin

I could have accepted this ruling more easily if the Judge had stopped at saying that the baby's name would likely cause the child great difficulty in life, such as in the case of the idiots who named their child "Hitler." She didn't stop there, she went on to explain her decision by saying that only Jesus Christ deserved the name chosen by the parents. That represents an intrusion of the Judge's personal religious beliefs into her ruling. That's a problem for me; and while many Christians may not immediately see a problem with the judge's ruling or reasoning, had the judge been Jewish, or Muslim, or Buddhist, and made a ruling based on personal religious belief, I believe they would see the problem clearly.

The judge was asked in an interview if she had considered the popularity within the Hispanic community of naming a child "Jesus." To which she replied that it wasn't relevant in this case.

IMO, "Messiah" is a stupid name for a kid, but it's not the worst name I've encountered, and should our courts be legislating against stupidity?

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Child Support Magistrate Lu Ann Ballew ordered the name change last week, according to WBIR-TV. The boy's parents were in court because they could not agree on the child's last name, but when the judge heard the boy's first name, she ordered it changed, too.

"It could put him at odds with a lot of people and at this point he has had no choice in what his name is," Ballew said.

It was the first time she ordered a first name change, the judge said.

Messiah was No. 4 among the fastest-rising baby names in 2012, according to the Social Security Administration's annual list of popular baby names.

The judge in eastern Tennessee said the baby was to be named Martin DeShawn McCullough, which includes both parents' last name.

The boy's mother, Jaleesa Martin, of Newport, said she will appeal. She says Messiah is unique and she liked how it sounded alongside the boy's two siblings _ Micah and Mason.

"Everybody believes what they want so I think I should be able to name my child what I want to name him, not someone else," Martin said.

Ballew said the name Messiah could cause problems if the child grows up in Cocke County, which has a large Christian population.

"The word Messiah is a title and it's a title that has only been earned by one person and that one person is Jesus Christ," the judge said.


Tennessee Judge orders baby's name be changed from 'Messiah' | wbir.com

 

anyone else thinking separation of church and state?

 

Thank goodness the parents weren't hispanic. Could you imagine if they'd named the tike Jesus?

I'm thinking that the judge over-reached on this one.

 

Like moon unit Zappa?

 

That one only happened because Frank Zappa took to much acid.

 

My first thought when I read this was: who the hell does that judge think she is to believe she has the authority to tell you what to name your child?

 

I would agree BT, if the conflict they had brought involved the first name (though I would still agree that the whole concept of having to have a judge decide what last name the child would use until he could make his own choice is still ridiculous)...but arbitrarily deciding that the first name, which was not a subject of the "controversy" should be brought into it and unilaterally choosing one exceeds even the parents' stupidity.

 

Acid, or not, the name stands. No judge decided the kid might not quite fit in with that name. The fight was over a Sur name (what clan or family do you hail from) not a given name which the parents DID agree upon. This is an arbitrary ruling, based solely upon the religious convictions of the judge alone.

" First Amendment –
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. "


The purpose of the First Amendment concerning religion, was to prevent Government from imposing it's own religious views upon the public. That choice of religious was to be free of Government mandate, or interference. Clearly, the judge overstepped this line, drawn in the sand. The parents freely, and without conflict chose the child's first name (given name). the judge abridged their free speech, and did so while imposing a religious view, on a legal decision.

 

I thought that was odd that the judge decided to rename the kid Martin. I don't know how I feel about the whole case because I can't understand why anyone would name their child Messiah in the first place. What goofy people.

 

well, Sifileus, and Gunoria were already taken... My wife had a child in her class named Encentz.....

 

Feeling slightly crazy Kellory? I can't even top that.

 

I used to get a class roster of my incoming students when I was training Intell Analysts. One class list had a young lady named "Rainbow" and her classmate "Calypso." I thought someone was having me on, and had to call to confirm those names. Of course, in the class I was teaching at the time, was a young lady with the name of "Fagot." (Think French pronunciation.)