Hobbs residents rally around 'Ten Commandments' marker

HOBBS, N.M. (AP) — A group of religious residents in a southeastern New Mexico city is rallying around a Ten Commandments monument from public property. The Hobbs News-Sun reports the residents crowded a commissioners' meeting this week in Hobbs, New Mexico, to speak out against a another group's effort to take down the marker. The move came after members of the Freedom From Religion Foundation said the Hobbs monument violated the separation of church and state. The city of Bloomfield, New Mexico, recently removed its Ten Commandments monument following a lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union. Rev. Rodney Warren, pastor of Life Temple United Pentecostal Church in Hobbs, says the monument has been a significant part of the Hobbs community for more than 50 years. ___ Information from: Hobbs News-Sun, http://www.hobbsnews.com