Tennessee judge, citing Jesus, changes baby's name from "Messiah"

[morningfog]

A Tennessee woman named her baby Messiah, but she and the boy's father couldn't agree on whose last name he should bear. So they went to court.

Except at a hearing in Cocke County Chancery Court on Thursday, Child Support Magistrate Lu Ann Ballew changed Messiah's first name.

"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 told WBIR-TV, a local channel.

The mother, Jaleesa Martin, told WBIR that she and the boy's father had gone to the hearing in eastern Tennessee to argue over the boy's last name. Born Jan. 9, the boy was named Messiah Deshawn Martin, with his mother's last name.

Ballew decided otherwise. The judge renamed him Martin DeShawn McCullough, which includes both parents' names.

The judge explained her decision to WBIR-TV in an interview by citing the area's heavily Christian population.

“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.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-baby-messiah-20130811,0,5368290.story

[Archae]

1. That woman is a blithering idiot.

What is it, that some parents seem to go out of thier way to saddle their kids with stupid names?

[morningfog]

4. Be that as it may, the judge should have left it.

[RedCappedBandit]

13. The judge is, yes.

[Go Vols]

2. My state is full of idiots

seems the judge and the mother are in this instance.

[avebury]

3. While it is not a name I would pick, there are certainly

a lot worse kid's names out there. I think that the judge exceeded her authority in changing the boy's first name. She had no right to impose her religious beliefs on this family.

[Ilsa]

5. The judge did the kid a favor.

A title like Messiah is a lot to live up to. There are plenty of boys named "Jesus" who get into trouble, too.

[backscatter712]

6. Clear 1st Amendment violation.

It's not the name I'd give to my kid, but the parents have the right to name their kids whatever they want.

This judge was out of line.

I'll bet lots of Latino people will be upset if they're no longer allowed to name their kids Jesus...

[Journeyman]

7. The article says "Messiah" is the 387th most common name given to boys in the US in 2012. . .

And elsewhere in the article, there's this:

Christianity isn't the only religion that lays claim to the concept of a messiah, and Messiah is an increasingly popular name in the U.S.

According to U.S. Social Security Administration statistics, Messiah was the fourth-fastest-growing name for boys in the U.S. between 2011 and 2012.

In 2012, Messiah was the 387th most common name given to baby boys in the U.S.

Not quite the name I'd pick for a child, or want for myself, but if what is said here is true, what business was it of the Judge to play like she's King Solomon and try to find a name that makes only the Judge feel good.

I hope the parents -- idiots though they may be (in my opinion) -- are successful in getting the Judge's decision overturned.

[Rex]

8. Now that is just sad.

The judge sure did show the parents how the law works!

[hrmjustin]

9. She should be removed as a judge for doing this.

[tblue37]

11. The judge is a she. nt

[hrmjustin]

12. Thank you for the correction.

[mockmonkey]

10. He's not the Messiah...

he's a very naughty boy.

[jberryhill]

14. Good thing nobody said "Jehovah"!

[Th1onein]

15. The judge is a blithering idiot.

The first name was not under contention and it was not her place to change it. Furthermore, it's a clear violation of the parent's 1st Amendment rights. She should be thrown off the bench.