In this undated photo provided by WBIR-TV, 7-month old Martin DeShawn McCullough is held by his mom, Jaleesa Martin. (AP Photo/WBIR-TV, Heidi Wigdahl)
The Associated Press reported this week that following the news that a Tennessee judge had ordered a baby’s name be changed from Messiah, a nonprofit group of atheists and agnostics has filed a complaint claiming the magistrate had no right.
In a letter sent to the Board of Judicial Conduct on Wednesday, the Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation accuses Child Support Magistrate Lu Ann Ballew of violating the state’s code of judicial conduct, the AP reports.
Late last week, when parents of the child went to court in disagreement over his last name, the Cocke County child support judge took issue with his first.
“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,” Ballew said, according to WBIR-TV a Tennessee affiliate.
Ballew ordered the child’s name be changed to Martin DeShawn McCullough - a decision the boy’s mother Jaleesa Martin said she plans to appeal.
“I never intended on naming my son Messiah because it means God and I didn't think a judge could make me change my baby's name because of her religious beliefs,” she told the station.
Martin said she liked how the name sounded alongside her two other children, Micah and Mason.
Legal experts have weighed in on the case at various media outlets, with many saying Ballew’s order crossed the line and violated the First Amendment.
In explaining her decision, Ballew had said leaving the child’s name as Messiah would put him “at odds” with a lot of people.
According to the Social Security Administration, Messiah was the fourth fastest rising names for baby boys in 2012 - more than 800 U.S. boys born that year were named Messiah.
In addition, nearly 4,000 were named Jesus; about 500 were named Mohammed; and 29 baby boys were named Christ in 2012, TIME magazine reported citing the Social Security Administration.
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