Anti-gay marriage protest takes place in Puerto Rico

Hundreds of people have marched through the capital of Puerto Rico to demand that the governor approve a constitutional amendment banning equal marriage rights for same-sex couples.

The protesters walked from the US territory’s seaside capitol building to the governor’s mansion in historic Old San Juan on Saturday.

AP reports it is the second such march in the past three months. A similar march in February drew an estimated 200,000 people.

Equal marriage is not recognised in Puerto Rico.

The protest comes as legislators hold hearings on legislation that would outlaw discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation and extend a domestic violence law to gay couples.

Puerto Rico’s Supreme Court narrowly voted 5-4 in February to maintain an island law banning adoptions by gay parents.

In March, Attorney General Margarita Mercado filed a motion in support of looking again at possibly removing the ban.

She said the Puerto Rico Government favours eliminating unequal treatment based on gender or sexual orientation.