Thousands of people marched through the streets of Lima – the capital and largest city of Peru – for LGBT rights on Saturday.

Marchers carrying rainbow flags and posters called for marriage equality. Organizers said that they wanted to send a message to Peru's next president.

“We want to push for full rights on recognition, marriage equality, gender laws and hate crime laws,” Gabriela Zavaleta, a spokesperson for Matrimonio Igualitario Peru, told reporters at the march.

Out lawmaker Carlos Bruce told demonstrators that those opposed to homosexuality don't have to sleep with a gay man or lesbian “but they cannot discriminate, cannot reject humans.”

(Related: Peruvian Congressman Carlos Bruce comes out gay.)

Currently, Peru does not recognize the relationships of gay couples. Gay couples can marry in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay and parts of Mexico.