The Wedding On October 10, 1987, 2,000 same-sex couples pledged their vows in a mass wedding behind the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/55">National Museum of Natural History</a> and in front of the Internal Revenue Service building. The location allowed the group to protest the lack of recognition of same-sex domestic partners in the US tax code. Organizers also admitted that location was the only area where they could secure a permit to gather. Nearly 5,000 protesters filled the streets to watch or participate in the mass wedding presided over by minister Dina Bachelor. "The Wedding" was 1 event in a 6-day demonstration known as the Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1980-1999">1980-1999</a>