Parents of 'nameless' children face fines

[Big Don]

Parents of 'nameless' children face fines

Published: Dec. 1, 2008 at 9:44 PM
UPI Excerpt:
STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- The Swedish Tax Agency is sending letters to parents who take too long giving first names to children for the tax registry.

The letters, which the agency began sending this year, inform parents that Swedish law requires them to give their children names before they are 3 months old. Non-compliant parents could face fines of up to $1,200.
END EXCERPT
THREE MONTHS? Who are these morons? Is it that hard?

 

[MJS]

3 mos??? People usually have names picked out before the child is even born. What do they call the child during the lengthy process of picking a name...him and her? It? Thing?

Amazing.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Maybe they have kids for food, and naming them makes it harder to make a roast out of em?

 

[exile]

Look, you guys are being entirely too flippant about this! You've got to decide, for boys, amongst Bjorn, Ragnar, Sigfried, Stefan and Torsten, and for girls, amongst Christina, Kristina, Cristina, Kerstin, Sigrid, Erika and Elisabet. C'mon now—how quickly do you think you can get through those two lists and give due weight and proper considerations to the various alternatives??!

 

[Big Don]

Maybe they have kids for food, and naming them makes it harder to make a roast out of em?

The Swedes are the source of the Zombie Apocalypse? The Swedes?!
OK. Well, we would never suspect them...

 

[Frostbite]

Thinking up names like Talulah Does the Hula From Hawaii takes a lot of time!

For those of you who have no clue what the hell I'm talking about, click here.

 

[shesulsa]

Too much pot.

 

[Empty Hands]

This is the same country that has a list of approved names for children, outside of which you are not supposed to go. I'm not surprised.

 

[Gordon Nore]

"It's every child's right to have a name," said Thomas Norgren of the Tax Agency. He said agency officials decided to step up enforcement of the law after they learned the number of children in the registry without names, The Local reported Monday.
"We decided that this is our job, after all," he said. "That's what the law says; that it's important for every child to have a name."

Sounds goofy, but if the kids are already 'in the registry,' I guess that means parents might be claiming them as dependents without having named them. I wonder what Revenue Canada or the IRS would do?

I found the English language version of a Swedish news site:

The naming laws are old. They pose problems for people who hyphenate. My son, Tucker Axton-Nore, would be some kind of fugitive there. http://www.thelocal.se/16056/20081201/ According to theLocal,

It is hard to find anyone to defend the name law, but despite repeated efforts by various politicians, the rules remain. Even the bureaucrats charged with enforcing the law want things changed.

The Swedish Patent Office, which is responsible for enforcing the law, has recommended a string of changes, including making it possible for each member of a couple to take the other's name and for children to inherit both parents' surnames. As long ago as 2001, the Swedish parliament told the government to change the rules, but still there are no proposals on the table.

The current government vowed last year to carry out a review of the law, but there has so far been no further movement on the issue, prompting Moderate MP Gustav Blix to submit another motion to parliament in October calling for action.

With government, public authorities and politicians supporting reform, many feel action is well overdue.

"I hope there will be a change soon," says Johan Linander. Couples contending with bureaucratic rules are likely to raise a glass to that.

So, basically the Tax Office looks out for the rights of the child, and the Patent office keeps Swedes safe from hyphens. In other Swedish name news...

• Cross-dressing Swedish man can be named Madeleine (10 Nov 08)
• Elvis no name for a girl (4 Jun 08)
• Forbidden names: identity and the law (26 Nov 07)
• 'My name means penis' (30 Mar 07)

 

[Big Don]

From the last article Gordon linked to:

Sweden already has 58 registered female Willys, as well as 3,967 males.

Unregistered Willy's the scourge of modern life

 

[Gordon Nore]

From the last article Gordon linked to:

Unregistered Willy's the scourge of modern life

Now we know the Willy's Jeep was just a penis.

 

[The Last Legionary]

That's all pretty ****ed up. I'm boycotting Cocoa!