Republican Party to take Ten Commandments monument

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – The Oklahoma Republican Party is offering to provide a home for a Ten Commandments monument that has been ordered removed from the state Capitol grounds.

In a statement Wednesday, interim party chairwoman Estela Hernandez offered to have the monument placed at the Dewey Bartlett Center, the home of the Oklahoma Republican Party.

The Oklahoma Supreme Court earlier this year ruled the monument violated a state constitutional provision that prohibits the use of state property to support a religion and must be removed. On Tuesday, a state panel that oversees artwork at the Capitol authorized the Office of Management and Enterprise Services to remove it.

Hernandez says she would work with donors to ensure no taxpayer funds are used to move the monument.