Article: Messiah can keep his name: judge

[rpm]

You can view the page at http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/content.php/7476-Messiah-can-keep-his-name-judge

 

[rpm]

A Tennessee judge who changed a baby's name because she believes "Messiah" should be reserved for Jesus Christ was overruled Wednesday, local media reported.

The eight-month-old boy's parents had sought help from a judge last month in a dispute over whether their child should have his mother or father's last name.

 

[Necuno]

Should have gone with muad'dib

 

[Lycanthrope]

Sweden's particularly aggressive about keeping names "PC."

Wikipedia entry on Sweden's Naming Law: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naming_law_in_Sweden

The law states, in part: "First names shall not be approved if they can cause offense or can be supposed to cause discomfort for the one using it, or names which for some obvious reason are not suitable as a first name" (34 §). This law text is valid in the same way both when parents name their children and when an adult wants to change their own name. When changing a name at least one of the names given at birth must be kept, and such a change is only allowed once per person. The law states nothing about registering which name is used on a daily basis, but the tax authority can register that if requested.

An example:

In 2007, Michael and Karolina Tomaro fought to have their daughter named "Metallica", after the metal band.[2] Tax officials determined that the name was "inappropriate", but the Göteborg County Administrative Court ruled in March 2007 that there was no reason to block the name, stating that a Swedish woman already uses the middle name Metallica. Tax officials did not agree with the decision and denied the parents a passport for their daughter, but later withdrew the objection.[2][4]
Commentary at the time noted that the name "Google" was earlier deemed acceptable in 2005, when Elias and Carol Kai named their child "Oliver Google Kai".[2]

I disapprove of any government that places itself in a position whereby it tells people what they may or may not name themselves or their children.

Nanny state nonsense to the highest degree.

 

[OrbitalDawn]

Praise Hey-soos.

 

[ShaunSA]

That Tennessee cow should never have been a judge.

 

[TJ99]

Yeah well it is a retarded name. It's not even a name, it's a title. That doesn't seem to bother the Americans though, as in this article:

http://www.blastr.com/2013-6-25/there-are-now-more-100-girls-named-khaleesi-us

Also how many Lieutenants, Doctors and such do we have here?

Still, the judge shouldn't be allowed to change it. Let the kid hate his parents on his own.

 

[Devill]

I disapprove of any government that places itself in a position whereby it tells people what they may or may not name themselves or their children.

Nanny state nonsense to the highest degree.

I disapprove of any parent that gives their kid a name that will give him / her a complex.... Most teens struggle enough to get through high school without some form of permanent "damage" due to social levels that are created, can you imagine how much fun high school is going to be for this kid called Messiah? The parents should be named: Dad = Dick breath and the mom - Captain Retardo.

I do however agree that nanny states should be on the least favourite things list and they should not have a say as to what you call your kid

 

[Rocket Raccoon]

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sns-rt-us-usa-tennessee-judge-20131025,0,617443.story

NASHVILLE (Reuters) - A Tennessee judge who ordered a baby's name changed from Messiah to Martin, saying the former was reserved for Jesus Christ, has been cited by a court panel for an inappropriate religious bias in violation of the state judicial code of conduct.

Child Support Magistrate Lu Ann Ballew of Cocke County in eastern Tennessee ordered the boy's first name changed over the objections of both parents when they appeared before the judge seeking to settle a number of issues, including a dispute over the child's last name.

Both the mother, Jaleesa Martin, and the father, Jawaan McCullough, were insisting on their respective surnames for baby Messiah. The magistrate instead threw out the child's birth name and ordered the boy renamed Martin DeShawn McCullough.

"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 magistrate told Tennessee television station WBIR at the time.

The parents appealed, and in September another judge, Chancellor Telford Forgety Jr., held that Ballew's ruling was unconstitutional.

The parents, who have since dropped their dispute over the last name, have continued to call the boy Messiah DeShawn McCullough.

A three-member investigative panel of the Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct concluded this week there was "reasonable cause to believe (Ballew) has committed judicial offenses," and directed the state board's disciplinary counsel to file the charges, according to a document obtained from a court clerk.

The judicial code the panel cited centers on a clause that says religion and other personal biases must not play roles when judges are performing their duties.

Ballew could not be reached for comment.

Ballew has 30 days to file an answer with the court, at which time a hearing will be scheduled "to impose just and proper sanctions as provided by law," according to the document outlining the charges against the judge.

Messiah was the 387th most popular name for boys born in the United States in 2012, based on applications for Social Security cards filed with the U.S. Social Security Administration.

In all, there were 762 applications for boys named Messiah in 2012, more than double the 368 applications made in 2011, the Social Security Administration said.