Polarized views over baby name change
Print Edition
A Tennessee judge’s decision to change a baby’s first name from Messiah to Martin is drawing strong reactions from people who believe the judge overstepped her powers and those who think parents’ creativity should have some limits.
Thousands of people have commented online about the judge’s order since WBIR-TV published its story over the weekend. Many of them said Child Support Magistrate Lu Ann Ballew went too far, but not all.
“I agree 100 percent that we only have one messiah and that’s Jesus Christ,” said Edith Wood, a resident of Cocke County in eastern Tennessee, where the boy lives. The mostly rural county is in the Appalachian foothills.
Telephone calls to Ballew from The Associated Press rang unanswered Monday, and her voice-mail was full.
The controversy started when the boy’s mother sought an order to establish paternity. It included a request for the judge to determine the child’s last name.
When Ballew heard Messiah’s first name, she decided it should be changed, too, saying the child could face problems with the name.
The name on his birth certificate was Messiah DeShawn Martin. The judge changed it to Martin DeShawn McCullough, giving the boy his father’s last name while replacing 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 told WBIR-TV.
Hedy Weinberg, director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee, said the First Amendment guarantees basic rights, including freedom of speech and separation of church and state.
“Parents, not the government, have the right to name a child,” she said. “The judge cannot impose her faith on those who come into her courtroom.”
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