Dozens of men, women and children carrying signs calling for an end to discrimination based on sexual orientation marched outside the City-County Building during a rally Saturday decrying constitutional bans on gay marriage that voters passed in four states.

The Indianapolis event was part of a nationwide series of protests organized by JoinTheImpact.com in response to the bans approved Nov. 4 by voters in Arizona, Arkansas, California and Florida.

"We feel it is important to show unity throughout the gay community and support for our brothers and sisters in California and the other states where these laws were passed," said Aaron Brown, 25, Muncie, who organized Indianapolis' rally.

Brown said he took on the role at the last minute after learning about the national protests through the online networking site Facebook.com.

"I saw Indiana didn't have an event scheduled, so I signed myself up to be the coordinator about a week ago," he said. "I mostly used the Internet to spread the word."

The short time he had to pull together the rally didn't allow Brown to secure speakers, so participants instead focused on making signs to solicit the support of passing motorists.

Passage of constitutional bans on gay marriage in the four states has no direct impact on Indiana, which already has a law limiting marriage to the union of one man and one woman. An effort to bolster that law with a constitutional ban died last year in the Indiana House, and it would take at least three years to get a proposed amendment banning same-sex marriage on the ballot for Indiana voters to consider.