A very large group of protesters descended upon the National Mall yesterday as part of an international protest against California’s Proposition 8, which overrode that state’s Supreme Court decision that same-sex marriage was a fundamental right. Even though the weather was gloomy, the Washington Blade estimated that what “looked like tens of thousands” gathered on the Mall, marched, and chanted; other groups fractured off at locations like the White House.

DCist contributor Benjamin Schuman-Stoler was on the scene:

The rain started just as the police cars leading the march reached the Smithsonian Metro, but once we curved around the Washington Monument it was evident that nobody ditched out. Even though the cheers (“What do we want? Equal rights. When do we want it? Now!”) perhaps weren’t as sexy as those in the wee hours of Nov 5th (“Move Bush, get out the way, get out the way Bush, get out the way”) there was a comparable feeling of genuine togetherness as we moved towards the White House, applauding cheering passerby and high-fiving camera wielding tourists. For what it’s worth, the cops did an excellent job of ushering us from street to sidewalk and back again, and successfully maneuvered everybody through the busy intersection at 17th and Constitution Ave. We won the street from Constitution to Pennsylvania Ave. and, though the rain continued to fall, we yelled and yelled, cars honked and honked, and the march trickled through Lafayette Park to the front fence of the White House; happy, wet, and loud as ever.