Americans should elect next president who will 'restore true marriage in law' — group

A girl watches as her grandmother votes at the old Town Hall during the US presidential election in Bristol, New Hampshire, in this Nov. 6, 2012 file photo.Reuters

Calling the Supreme Court's decision legalising same-sex marriage as "illegitimate," a civil society group is now calling on Americans to elect a new leader who will "restore true marriage in the law."

The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) said in a statement the definition of marriage should be a "pivotal issue in the 2016 presidential contest."

"We call on the American people... to elect a president who will be a true champion for marriage, one who is committed to taking specific steps to restoring true marriage in the law," the group said.

It added that Americans should choose a president who will appoint "new justices to the Supreme Court who will have the opportunity to reverse" the decision to legalise same-sex marriage nationwide.

The civil society group also vowed to "work at every turn" to reverse the court's "lawless ruling that contravenes the decisions of over 50 million voters and their elected representatives."

"We reject it and so will the American people. It represents nothing but judicial activism, legislating from the bench, with a bare majority of the Justices on the Supreme Court exercising raw political power to impose their own preferences on marriage when they have no constitutional authority to do so," NOM said in its media release.

The NOM is also supporting calls for Congress to define marriage as a union between man and woman.

Saying that the Supreme Court "does not have the authority to redefine something it did not create," the group likewise urged lawmakers to amend the Constitution to reflect the definition of marriage "for the entirety of our nation's existence."

"Marriage was created long before the United States and our Constitution came into existence. Our Constitution says nothing about marriage. The majority who issued the ruling have simply made it up out of thin air with no constitutional authority," the NOM's statement read.

"Today's decision of the Supreme Court lacks both constitutional and moral authority. There is no eternal or natural law that allows for marriage to be redefined," the statement added.