(SALISBURY) -- One North Carolina county is defying a court ruling that says prayers at public meetings are unconstitutional. Rowan County Commissioners say they have been offering Christian prayers before meetings for decades, and they do not plan to stop now.

The controversy stems from a lawsuit filed by the ACLU against the Forsyth County Commission. Now the civil liberties group has Rowan County in its sights.

Commissioner Carl Ford said they are not worried about a March 5 deadline imposed by the ACLU. "The ACLU didn't elect us and the ACLU doesn't tell our board what to do by giving us a deadline of March 5.  We intend on ignoring that deadline and keep doing what we've been doing for decades," said Ford.

The ACLU has not formally filed a lawsuit against Rowan County, but says it will weigh its options after the March deadline.