Ignoring Parents' Wishes, Judge Renames Baby From ‘Messiah’ To ‘Martin’ — DOGGEREL!

From TPM's Tom Kludt:

A judge in Tennessee ordered that a 7-month-old baby's name be changed from "Messiah," prompting the mother to challenge the ruling.

Jaleesa Martin and the father of the baby were attending a child support hearing Thursday in Cocke County, Tenn. to settle a dispute over Messiah's last name. It was there that Child Support Magistrate Lu Ann Ballew took the liberty to hand down a ruling on the boy's first name, too.

"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," Judge Ballew said, according to t.v. station WBIR. Ballew said the child could go by "Martin DeShawn McCullough," which includes both the mother and father's names.

...

As WBIR noted, "Messiah" was one of the five fastest growing male baby names between 2011 and 2012, according to the Social Security Administration.

Well, that's mighty presumptuous of Judge Ballew... what's next? Will she rename all those Hispanic boys named Jesus and girls named Maria? Just how far does this go?

Who Will Save Us? Not Fundamentalist Judges!

A judge who's holier than some
Decided that she wouldn't buy a
Charming little boy whose Mom
Saw fit to name the tyke MESSIAH.

Said Judge Ballew, "that name's reserved...
To call him that is bad behavior!"
"Well," the startled Mom observed;
"How 'bout instead we name him SAVIOR?"

The judge said she would brook no fooling:
"'Nuff of this, now; quit yer fartin'...
I proclaim my solemn ruling:
As of now, his name is MARTIN."

The Mom was ticked; her rage was blind;
"This is not over," said with feeling,
"'Nother judge will shortly find
This charming child to be... APPEALING!"

SB the YDD

UPDATE: the ACLU of Tennessee has offered to assist with the appeal.