Should government have a say in what parents name their children?

[jerseydevil]

This I thought was weird. A couple wants to name their child Osama bin Ladin - but Germany has refused to allow them to name their child that.

Couple try to name baby bin Laden

BERLIN, Germany -- A Turkish couple living in Germany who want to call their child Osama bin Laden have been refused permission by German officials but are to appeal to a judge.

Names can only be registered in Germany if they fulfil certain criteria. A name must clearly identify the child's gender and must not ridicule the child or be offensive.

"Hitler" is banned as a name for that reason.

Registrations officials in Cologne, where the young couple live, rejected the name because it would not be allowed in Turkey, a spokeswoman for the magistrates court now dealing with the case said on Thursday.

"Another reason was the obvious association of the name with the terror attacks of September 11," she said.

The German rules on babies' names also say that non-German parents must give their children names that are acceptable in their home country.

However, registration officials do not have the power to ban the couple from using the name of the al Qaeda leader for their child and the case has been referred to a judge.

The parents, both under 30, have been asked to make a statement to the judge, the spokeswoman said.

She declined to comment on whether the couple had other children and what their names were.

The United States blames al Qaeda and its leader, Saudi-born bin Laden, for the September 11 attacks.

I think the government should NOT have any say in what a couple names their children. Granted some parents do pick ridiculous names - some people in the US have named their children numbers. I'm really surprised at how much freedom people are willing to give up. Although I personally disagree with the couple naming their child Bin Ladin, but I also feel they have a right to choose that name.

I was also surprised by the side poll on CNN.com. 76% felt the name was offensive and only 24% felt it was the parents choice.