A minister has sued Cuyahoga County, claiming its anti-discrimination policy forces her to promote same-sex weddings.

The Arizona-based Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed the suit on behalf of Kristi Stokes, an evangelical Christian from Cleveland, Ohio, in U.S. District Court in Cleveland last week.

ADF lawyers argue that the county's policy, approved in 2018, forces her to perform and promote same-sex weddings or face prosecution.

Stokes' business, Covenant Weddings, which began operations in 2018, offers wedding services “that celebrate marriage between one biological man and one biological woman,” the filing states.

The lawsuit states that the law has left Stokes “with an impossible choice: disobey the law, defy her faith, desecrate her ministry or ditch her business. None of these options are acceptable. To Kristi. To her faith. Or to the First Amendment.”

Mary Louise Madigan, a spokesperson for the county, told Cleveland.com that the county will “vigorously defend” its law.

“It's an important piece of legislation written and passed to ensure equal access and opportunity for all citizens of Cuyahoga County,” she said.

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has labeled the ADF a “hate group” over its support for the criminalization of consensual gay sex in the United States and abroad.

The lawsuit also states that Stokes uses her social media accounts “to congratulate the couples she works with and to promote and celebrate the beauty of marriage to her clients, their friends and family, and to the general public.” This statement could not be independently verified because the Facebook and Instagram accounts for Covenant Weddings did not appear to exist as of Sunday, June 26.