A Tennessee judge has granted permission to a woman to name her 8-month-old son 'Messiah', while reversing a ruling that ordered her to change her baby's name to Martin because "Messiah is a title that is held only by Jesus Christ".
Jaleesa Martin said that she couldn't believe it when child support magistrate, Lu Ann Ballew, ordered her son's name changed during a paternity hearing, CBS News reported.
Jaleesa and Messiah's dad ended up at a child support hearing because they could not agree on a last name for the baby, since both of them wanted him to bear their own last names.
Ballew had written in her order that labeling a child 'Messiah' places an undue burden on him that as a human being, he cannot fulfill.
During an appeal hearing, Chancellor Telford E. Forgety overturned Ballew's decision, asserting that her decision violates the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
Forgety said that there is no basis in the law for changing a child's first name where both parents are in agreement about it.
