Mexiko gay laws

Leaders of the National Front for the Family, which organised the march, say they are not opposed to LGBT rights.

But they argue that Mexico has fallen victim of an ideological battle that threatens family ethics and the institution of marriage.

"In a democratic society you cannot impose a single thought," said Mario Alberto Romo, a spokesman for the group.

Demonstrators are calling for a meeting with Mr Pena Nieto to debate the issue.

LGBT rights supporters turned up at the protest to show their backing for Mr Pena Nieto's proposal to legalise lgbtq+ marriage, but police said there were no clashes.

Some of them carried banners that read: "I'm lgbtq+ and I'm a Catholic" and "We also hold families".

Four Latin American countries have already legalised homosexual marriage: Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and most recently Colombia.

Guadalajara, Mexico – As the countdown to New Year’s Day reached its climax in Guadalajara’s trendy Barezzito nightclub, many of the well-dressed local couples shared a celebratory kiss. But the euphoria did not last long for two young men who partook in a modest display of affection.

“We kissed a couple of times and the security guards told us that it wasn’t a gay bar and that we had to leave,” Pedro Siordia Mora, a year-old psychology graduate, told Al Jazeera.

“They called the police on us and the police showed up with machine guns,” added his lover, Michael Grendell, a year-old English teacher from New York.

Intolerance of sexual diversity remains common across much of Mexico and Latin America, a strongly Catholic region where macho attitudes prevail. Yet the region has seen rapid change in recent years. Democratisation, an increased respect for human rights, the onset of globalisation and the growth of social media have all facilitated the expansion of lesbian, gay, double attraction, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) rights across the