Tennessee Magistrate Who Objected To Parents' Naming Child "Messiah" Is Fired

Reuters reported yesterday that Tennessee Child Support Magistrate Lu Ann Ballew who gained widespread attention after she insisted that parents change their child's first name from "Messiah" to "Martin" has been fired from her position, effective last Friday, by the presiding judge of Tennessee's 4th judicial district. Ballew told the child's parents-- who had a dispute only over the child's last name-- that: "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." Her decision was reversed by a chancery court judge.  Ballew has been charged with ethics violations for her action by the Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct. (See prior posting.)