A gay pride parade took place Saturday in a Mississippi city that had originally rejected a request for a parade permit.

About 2,500 people marched peacefully in the first-ever Starkville gay pride parade, NBC News reported.

City leaders voted last month to deny Starkville Pride’s request for a permit for the parade.

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After the group filed a federal lawsuit saying the city violated their First Amendment rights, the city reversed the decision, with Mayor Lynn Spruill breaking a tie on the vote to approve the parade.

The Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, executive director of LGBT advocacy group Campaign for Southern Equality, told NBC the parade was the city’s largest ever.

"They wouldn't take no for an answer and then went on to organize the largest parade ever in Starkville," she said. "The reality is that LGBTQ people live in every town across Mississippi, and we will keep fighting until they are fully equal and free from discriminatory treatment.”