Tennessee judge rules infant's name must be changed from 'Messiah'

[Teh One Who Knocks]

The Associated Press


http://i.imgur.com/a5RuU97.jpg

NEWPORT, Tenn. – A judge in Tennessee changed a 7-month-old boy's name to Martin from Messiah, saying the religious name was earned by one person and "that one person is Jesus Christ."

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.

[DemonGeminiX]

I foresee ACLU bitchery in the future...

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Yeah, but first and foremost I see a judge sticking her nose in where it doesn't belong.

[DemonGeminiX]

And that's why the ACLU will start bitching... not that I'd disagree, but personally I think it's all gonna end being a waste of taxpayer dollars.

[Goofy]

:hail:

[deebakes]

:facepalm:

[Hal-9000]

I foresee ACLU bitchery in the future...

you must be some sort of Messiah :tup:

[Muddy]

How ridiculous...

[RBP]

Yeah, but first and foremost I see a judge sticking her nose in where it doesn't belong.

The whole thing is ridiculous, but the judge rejecting the first name is beyond idiocy.

[PorkChopSandwiches]

"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.

What a fuckin cock gobbler, since when does religion have anything to do with the law, and it isnt even illegal. In fact its protected. :fu:

[Hal-9000]

yeah when people can called their kids exclamation mark and hashtag, the religious angle really doesn't make much sense

[Muddy]

If you can legally name your kid "Adolph Hitler " in this country then "Messiah" is definitely still on the table..

[Richard Cranium]

If you can legally name your kid, TaRhonda, D'Andre, Tia-Wanna, Aquanettia, Diahnaia, Ra-shawn, Di-Jon, De-Bore-Ah, Repete,Tonette, Starkeisha, Anaheimisha, Ti Ti, Nae Nae, Erionne, Asata, Ambrosha or Le-a It's pronounced "ladasha, cause the dash don't be silent!" than you can name your fucking kid Messiah.

[Oofty Goofty]

What is this Red-Neck idiot going to do about all the babies named Jesus?

[Hal-9000]

If you can legally name your kid, TaRhonda, D'Andre, Tia-Wanna, Aquanettia, Diahnaia, Ra-shawn, Di-Jon, De-Bore-Ah, Repete,Tonette, Starkeisha, Anaheimisha, Ti Ti, Nae Nae, Erionne, Asata, Ambrosha or Le-a It's pronounced "ladasha, cause the dash don't be silent!" than you can name your fucking kid Messiah.

Conversely the names Simon, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James, Judas, Matthius all have to be taken off of the table because they were Apostles/Disciples/Saints..

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By ALEXIS SHAW - ABC News


A Tennessee judge who ruled that a baby could not be named Messiah has declined to explain her decision, but critics of her ruling have plenty to say.

What started as a parent's request to establish paternity and change the little boy's last name turned into something entirely different after Child Support Magistrate Lu Ann Ballew ordered the baby's first name to be changed as well, Knoxville station WBIR-TV reported.

Ballew, who serves the 4th Judicial District of Tennessee, including Cocke, Grainger, Jefferson and Sevier counties, ordered the boy's name to be changed from Messiah DeShawn Martin to Martin DeShawn McCullough.

"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 told WBIR-TV about her decision last week to replace Messiah with his mother's surname.

"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," she said.

Through Tennessee courts spokeswoman Michele Wojciechowski, Ballew declined to comment to ABCNews.com.

The boy's mother, Jaleesa Martin, of Newport, Tenn., said she plans to appeal the order and will not stop calling him Messiah.

"I never intended on that -- naming my son Messiah because it means God," she told WBIR-TV. "And I didn't think a judge could make me change my baby's name because of her religious beliefs."

Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Association, which says it promotes traditional family values, said that while the group agrees "with the judge's sentiments, 'that the only true Messiah is Jesus Christ,'" it does not believe "that a judge should be able to rule on what parents name their child."

Association director Bryan Fischer, who leads the organization's Issue Analysis for Government and Public Policy division, said "you think of the number of Hispanic parents that name their child Jesus -- that originated out of a desire to honor the person of Jesus Christ."

Despite the judge's scepticism about the suitability of Messiah as a child's name, it was the fourth fastest rising name for boys over a one-year period, according to the Social Security Administration, jumping 246 spots from number 633 in 2011 to number 387 in 2012,

The judge's decision was an unnecessary breach of a parents' right to name their child what they please, ACLU-Tennessee executive director Hedy Weinberg said.

"Bottom line, parents, not the government, have the right to select a name for their child," Weinberg told ABCNews.com. "While the judge has a right to her religious beliefs, she cannot impose her faith on those who appear in her courtroom.

"Tennessee law is pretty clear that you can change your name to whatever you want, as long as it does not harm someone else or you haven't been convicted of a few specific crimes. But it doesn't even apply to [the judge]," she said.

Weinberg called the focus on the child's first name "pretty outrageous," especially when it wasn't the issue being presented.

"In this instance, the judge is imposing her religious beliefs on a family who came before her rightfully so to handle a dispute and they focused on that dispute," she said. "But the dispute in no way focused on the first name of the child."

Norman Smith, who is chairman of the legislative body for Cocke County, told ABCNews.com that while he thought naming a child Messiah showed "a lack of respect for Christian people," he said Martin has the right to name her baby whatever she wants.

Several other members of the Cocke County legislative body did not return phone calls made by ABCNews.com.

[Muddy]

Somebody in a higher court needs to have this religious nut removed from her bench..

[Hal-9000]

I find the name Cocke County, a little offensive....

[PorkChopSandwiches]

How the fuck does this judge know this child isnt the messiah ?

[Hal-9000]

cuz La-teitia is his momma and the baby daddy be Darnell :)

[Muddy]

cuz La-teitia is his momma and the baby daddy be Darnell :)

:hand: Jesus was black..

[Hal-9000]

:hand: Jesus was black..

Preachin to the choir Willis, I already know

[Teh One Who Knocks]

:hand: Jesus was black..


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHpXQ8XBUYA

[minz]

How the fuck does this judge know this child isnt the messiah ?


cuz La-teitia is his momma and the baby daddy be Darnell :)

And dont forget little sister La-a that dash dont be silent you know. :mrgreen:

[Hal-9000]

Look at Minz gettin all down home and shit :lol:

[Southern Belle]

The judge is way out of bounds. What an idiot.