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DU Home » Latest Threads » Forums & Groups » Main » Latest Breaking News (Forum) » After Complaint, Miss. Ma...

Thu Sep 27, 2012, 12:28 AM

Star Member SunSeeker (5,334 posts)

After Complaint, Miss. Man Allowed to Change Name

Source: ABCNews.com

A Mississippi man has taken his wife's last name after the ACLU complained he was told by state officials that he would need a court order to do so because it was not traditional.

Robert Everhart, 28, of Pascagoula, born Robert McCarthy, changed his last name on his driver's license Wednesday by using his marriage certificate, as many women do in taking their husband's last name.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi sent a letter to Mississippi Department of Public Safety Commissioner Albert Santa Cruz on Tuesday, saying the agency was violating state and federal law.

DPS spokesman Warren Strain said Tuesday that Everhart's request was unusual, and employees at driver's license stations were operating under an old practice. He said the employees were informed that men can use marriage certificates to change their names, just like women do.



Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/complaint-miss-man-allowed-change-17329753


A true Southern gentleman.

29 replies, 3931 views

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Always highlight: 10 newest replies | Replies posted after I mark a forum
Replies to this discussion thread
Arrow 29 replies Author Time Post
Reply After Complaint, Miss. Man Allowed to Change Name (Original post)
 SunSeeker Sep 2012 OP
LineNew Reply Ah, Pascagoula. My home town. Some good people there.
 nolabear Sep 2012 #1
LineLineNew Reply Indeed. You can't do better than a sweet Southern drawl coupled with a progressive mind.
 SunSeeker Sep 2012 #3
LineLineLineNew Reply Why thank y'all.
 nolabear Sep 2012 #4
LineNew Reply Well at least they corrected themselves quickly.
 David__77 Sep 2012 #2
LineNew Reply Wait, so now she is Mrs. Man?
 jberryhill Sep 2012 #5
LineLineNew Reply Hahaha
 JohnnyRingo Sep 2012 #10
LineNew Reply Why is it that its always women who has to change, but men are suppose to remain the same?
 jonesgirl Sep 2012 #6
LineLineNew Reply Patriarchy; sexism.
 SunSeeker Sep 2012 #7
LineLineLineNew Reply +1
 jonesgirl Sep 2012 #8
LineLineLineNew Reply This message was self-deleted by its author
 bamacrat Sep 2012 #19
LineLineLineLineNew Reply This message was self-deleted by its author
 SunSeeker Sep 2012 #22
LineLineLineLineLineNew Reply This message was self-deleted by its author
 bamacrat Sep 2012 #23
LineLineNew Reply Traditionally, men have better last names.
 Bucky Sep 2012 #15
LineLineLineNew Reply Since all of our last names are from men originally,.....
 efhmc Sep 2012 #20
LineLineNew Reply Because marriages were traditionally patrilineal to insure dynastic succession.
 Sirveri Sep 2012 #26
LineNew Reply This used to happen fairly often when the wife's family was rich and the husband's was poor.
 dimbear Sep 2012 #9
LineLineNew Reply Oliver Cromwell, for instance
 Spider Jerusalem Sep 2012 #24
LineNew Reply In Quebec, I believe it's a mandatory hyphenated name
 OnlinePoker Sep 2012 #11
LineLineNew Reply Actually, in Quebec
 FlaGranny Sep 2012 #13
LineLineLineNew Reply Sounds like Venezuela. You keep your birth name, but kids traditionally get the dad's
 Bucky Sep 2012 #16
LineLineLineNew Reply Italy too...
 WilmywoodNCparalegal Sep 2012 #21
LineNew Reply Oh my!
 FlaGranny Sep 2012 #12
LineNew Reply My husband took my last name
 LittleGirl Sep 2012 #14
LineNew Reply Wow, and I just recently read about Oregon's name change laws, which
 Bluenorthwest Sep 2012 #17
LineNew Reply I have stongly mixed feelings about the name McCarthy
 slackmaster Sep 2012 #18
LineNew Reply "Not traditional"???
 Shitty Mitty Sep 2012 #25
LineNew Reply When my daughter got married she kept her maiden name much to
 Auntie Bush Sep 2012 #27
LineNew Reply I took my wife's name as well
 Paulie Sep 2012 #28
LineNew Reply I am changing my last name to Brat. n/t
 babydollhead Sep 2012 #29

Response to SunSeeker (Original post)

Thu Sep 27, 2012, 12:33 AM

Star Member nolabear (15,016 posts)

1. Ah, Pascagoula. My home town. Some good people there.

Glad they're now up to date.

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Response to nolabear (Reply #1)

Thu Sep 27, 2012, 12:44 AM

Star Member SunSeeker (5,334 posts)

3. Indeed. You can't do better than a sweet Southern drawl coupled with a progressive mind.

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Response to SunSeeker (Reply #3)

Thu Sep 27, 2012, 12:46 AM

Star Member nolabear (15,016 posts)

4. Why thank y'all.

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Response to SunSeeker (Original post)

Thu Sep 27, 2012, 12:43 AM

Star Member David__77 (14,219 posts)

2. Well at least they corrected themselves quickly.

...

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Response to SunSeeker (Original post)

Thu Sep 27, 2012, 12:51 AM

jberryhill (30,162 posts)

5. Wait, so now she is Mrs. Man?

Last edited Thu Sep 27, 2012, 12:53 AM USA/ET - Edit history (1)


Or is it his wife who is now Mrs. Miss Man?

I'm confused, so I'm alerting on the OP.

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Response to jberryhill (Reply #5)

Thu Sep 27, 2012, 01:57 AM

Star Member JohnnyRingo (9,344 posts)

10. Hahaha

How DU2 of you.

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Response to SunSeeker (Original post)

Thu Sep 27, 2012, 12:58 AM

jonesgirl (157 posts)

6. Why is it that its always women who has to change, but men are suppose to remain the same?

Traditions change, and just because the man changes his name after marriage, doesn't make him any less of a man. It will probably make it harder for future relatives to search their ancestry, mainly because the search begins with the last name of the man (usually stays constant). Whereas for women, it's hard searching ancestry because the constant change of the last name being changed due to marriage.

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Response to jonesgirl (Reply #6)

Thu Sep 27, 2012, 01:16 AM

Star Member SunSeeker (5,334 posts)

7. Patriarchy; sexism.

Last edited Thu Sep 27, 2012, 01:17 AM USA/ET - Edit history (1)

And I agree, the decision of who changes their name, if anyone, should be up to the couple, and based on the couple's private reasons. In this guy's case, his wife was the last of the Everharts, and he wasn't particularly enamored with being a McCarthy. And yes, a man changing his name after marriage doesn't make him any less of a man. In fact, Mr. Everhart is one fine male specimen:



http://www.sunherald.com/2012/09/26/4210587/pascagoula-man-needs-aclus-help.html

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Response to SunSeeker (Reply #7)

Thu Sep 27, 2012, 01:21 AM

jonesgirl (157 posts)

8. +1

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Response to SunSeeker (Reply #7)

bamacrat This message was self-deleted by its author.

Response to bamacrat (Reply #19)

SunSeeker This message was self-deleted by its author.

Response to SunSeeker (Reply #22)

bamacrat This message was self-deleted by its author.

Response to jonesgirl (Reply #6)

Thu Sep 27, 2012, 08:56 AM

Star Member Bucky (41,687 posts)

15. Traditionally, men have better last names.

(*waits for reaction*)

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Response to Bucky (Reply #15)

Thu Sep 27, 2012, 10:12 AM

Star Member efhmc (9,601 posts)

20. Since all of our last names are from men originally,.....

As I always tell people both of my last names were/are from men. I offered to change my daughters last names to Ellendaughter but that doesn't exactly roll off the tongue.

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Response to jonesgirl (Reply #6)

Fri Sep 28, 2012, 08:51 PM

Star Member Sirveri (4,301 posts)

26. Because marriages were traditionally patrilineal to insure dynastic succession.

Occasionally to preserve title a matrilineal marriage would be granted, but that was fairly rare. It's basically a legacy holdover from 1000 years ago. Nowadays folks really don't care all the much about things like that.

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Response to SunSeeker (Original post)

Thu Sep 27, 2012, 01:22 AM

Star Member dimbear (5,305 posts)

9. This used to happen fairly often when the wife's family was rich and the husband's was poor.

Keep one eye on the inheritance, it comes in handy eventually.

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Response to dimbear (Reply #9)

Thu Sep 27, 2012, 01:20 PM

Star Member Spider Jerusalem (15,470 posts)

24. Oliver Cromwell, for instance

who would properly have been Williams if his great-great-grandfather hadn't taken the name of "Cromwell" after his uncle Thomas (who was Henry VIII's Lord Chancellor).

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Response to SunSeeker (Original post)

Thu Sep 27, 2012, 03:34 AM

OnlinePoker (1,250 posts)

11. In Quebec, I believe it's a mandatory hyphenated name

I don't believe men have the option.

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Response to OnlinePoker (Reply #11)

Thu Sep 27, 2012, 07:01 AM

Star Member FlaGranny (8,081 posts)

13. Actually, in Quebec

Last edited Thu Sep 27, 2012, 07:02 AM USA/ET - Edit history (1)

both partners keep their original name, neither takes the name of the other. It's the law, I believe for the last 20 or 30 years or so.

A thought - I wonder whose name the children take? I'll have to ask my friends from Quebec.

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Response to FlaGranny (Reply #13)

Thu Sep 27, 2012, 08:57 AM

Star Member Bucky (41,687 posts)

16. Sounds like Venezuela. You keep your birth name, but kids traditionally get the dad's

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Response to FlaGranny (Reply #13)

Thu Sep 27, 2012, 10:32 AM

Star Member WilmywoodNCparalegal (2,474 posts)

21. Italy too...

My mom is legally known by her first name and last name with the addition of 'married to ' and my sister and I have my dad's last name, though we could have technically had both last names as it is done in many nations including Mexico, Central and South America.

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Response to SunSeeker (Original post)

Thu Sep 27, 2012, 06:59 AM

Star Member FlaGranny (8,081 posts)

12. Oh my!

All I can say, as a person who has been working on my family's genealogy, I pity the poor folks 100 years from now trying to do the same.

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Response to SunSeeker (Original post)

Thu Sep 27, 2012, 08:33 AM

LittleGirl (916 posts)

14. My husband took my last name

when we got married in Dec 06. His name was freakishly long and hard to pronounce. I struggled with it.

My husband changed it immediately after we married. You can also change your name when you become a citizen in this country. You just put in the name change on the application forms and they will change it when you are sworn in.

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Response to SunSeeker (Original post)

Thu Sep 27, 2012, 09:22 AM

Bluenorthwest (24,801 posts)

17. Wow, and I just recently read about Oregon's name change laws, which

sure aren't dictating who takes whose name, the article mentioned that a newish but growing trend for new married couples is the taking of an entirely new name, not his, not hers, a brand new family name. Sounds like that would cause blown gaskets in Mississippi!

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Response to SunSeeker (Original post)

Thu Sep 27, 2012, 09:40 AM

slackmaster (60,567 posts)

18. I have stongly mixed feelings about the name McCarthy

 

It's both good...



And bad...

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Response to SunSeeker (Original post)

Thu Sep 27, 2012, 03:07 PM

Shitty Mitty (138 posts)

25. "Not traditional"???

Fuck that shit.

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Response to SunSeeker (Original post)

Fri Sep 28, 2012, 09:22 PM

Star Member Auntie Bush (15,363 posts)

27. When my daughter got married she kept her maiden name much to

her husband's dismay. But now he's used to it...so is his family. I'm glad she did as I like her name and didn't particularly like his.

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Response to SunSeeker (Original post)

Fri Sep 28, 2012, 09:51 PM

Star Member Paulie (5,959 posts)

28. I took my wife's name as well

Though I did it via court order. Went from 11 letters to 6.

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Response to SunSeeker (Original post)

Sat Sep 29, 2012, 12:58 PM

babydollhead (1,876 posts)

29. I am changing my last name to Brat. n/t

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