NEBRASKA — A Lancaster County judge recently acted boldly to protect society — by denying a request of a prison inmate to change his name. It’s a move that Notaries throughout the state should applaud, since the convict — Jonathan L. Thomas — may have been motivated more to avoid further legal entanglements by concealing his real identity than to honor his Nordic religion.
Thomas, a professed “heathen” whose “high god” is Thor, had asked District Judge Steve Burns to legally change his name to Sinner Lawrence Bilskirnir.
Burns denied the request, in part, because government agencies need to closely monitor Thomas in light of his criminal history and three pending child-support cases against him. Burns also didn’t buy Thomas’ religious argument, noting that “simply because a person is a Christian, a Jew or a Muslim, they do not change their name to Moses,” according the Lincoln Journal Star.