A coalition of black pastors plans to file 80 legal briefs in same-sex marriage lawsuits across the US.

The National Coalition of Black Pastors and Christian Leaders will file briefs in more than 80 lawsuits across the US, the group announced at a Michigan press conference.

It is partnering with the right-wing Thomas More Law Center in order to file the briefs.

Minister Stacy Swimp said: “We got together and decided there was no way we were going to be silenced when a judge has threatened our holy rights.

“I don’t have to be married to know that without family, society will crumble.

“If they are successful at tearing down the very meaning of family, we are going to see the end of Western civilisation.

“If this is successful, it will have a devastating impact on black Americans. I’m from what we call the hood. When I was growing up, we used to say when America has a cold, black folks get the flu. We are disproportionately affected by things that are not healthy for the nation.”

Swimp also wants to see a boycott of civil rights group NAACP, a rights group which he claims has become “morally bankrupt” and “sold our civil rights for gay rights”.

He added: “Who gave you permission to say Dr. King took a bullet for gay rights?”

Benjamin Todd Jealous of the NAACP said: “Civil marriage is a civil right and a matter of civil law. The NAACP’s support for marriage equality is deeply rooted in the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution and equal protection of all people.”