Editing Bloomfield, New Mexico (section)

== ''Felix v. City of Bloomfield'' ==

In April 2007, Bloomfield attracted attention and some controversy when the city council voted unanimously to erect a stone monument of the [[Ten Commandments]] at the city hall.<ref>[http://www.aztecnews.com/NewsArchives/2julyTALON2007all.pdf Freedom of Religion - is Bloomfield crossing the line?] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516104527/http://www.aztecnews.com/NewsArchives/2julyTALON2007all.pdf |date=May 16, 2008 }}, ''Aztec Local News'', 2007-07-16, p. 3.  Accessed 2007-11-06.</ref> Two residents sued the city in 2012 "alleging it violated their constitutional rights and represented a government endorsement of religion". In August 2014, a federal judge ruled the monument must be removed.<ref>[https://www.foxnews.com/us/judge-ten-commandments-monument-at-new-mexico-city-hall-must-be-removed/ Judge: Ten Commandments monument at New Mexico city hall must be removed; Fox News; August 8, 2014.]</ref> The city's response to the lawsuit was that it was a local group that paid for the memorial and they had added a disclaimer. A district judge decided that a "reasonable observer would interpret the monument as the government endorsing a religion". The [[ACLU]] became involved and the city asked the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] to hear the case, but was refused. The city owed court fees of $700,000 to the ACLU and the monument was moved to "property owned by a [[Baptist]] church.<ref name="Grover Feb 2018">{{cite web |last1=Grover |first1=Hannah |title=Bloomfield must pay $700K for lawyer fees in Ten Commandments case |url=https://www.daily-times.com/story/news/local/bloomfield/2018/02/14/bloomfield-pay-lawyer-fees-ten-commandments-case/338680002/ |publisher=Farmington Daily Times |accessdate=2 June 2018}}</ref> The city has been looking for outside funds to pay the fee, but in June 2018, it released its 2019 budget which calls for "paying $233,000 toward the money it owes from the ... lawsuit". The city has until 2021 to pay the amount in full.<ref name="Grover June 2018">{{cite web |last1=Grover |first1=Hannah |title=Bloomfield pursues twin goals with 2019 preliminary budget |url=https://www.daily-times.com/story/news/local/bloomfield/2018/06/01/bloomfield-looks-12-2-million-budget-fiscal-year-2019/661585002/ |publisher=Farmington Daily Times}}</ref> [[Hemant Mehta]] stated that the "city officials were goaded by the Christian Right into fighting back. "<ref name="Metha June 2018">{{cite web |last1=Mehta |first1=Hemant |authorlink=Hemant Mehta|title=After Costly Legal Battle, NM City's Proposed Budget Includes Large ACLU Payment |url=http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2018/06/02/after-costly-legal-battle-nm-citys-proposed-budget-includes-large-aclu-payment/ |website=Friendly Atheist |publisher=Patheos |accessdate=2 June 2018}}</ref>