Here’s a montage of photos and audio from Saturday night’s “Join the Impact” candlelight rally in Lansing, Mich., during which students and community members gathered at “The Rock” at Michigan State University in support of civil rights for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Approximately 150 people braved the cold and windy evening to attend the event in Lansing, while an additional 200 rallied in Detroit.

The rally was organized by the Alliance of Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay and Transgender Students of MSU and was part of an international protest. Other Michigan cities hosting events included Detroit, Kalamazoo, Mt. Pleasant, Grand Rapids and Marquette.

A rally attendee holds a candle while listening to speakers at a Prop. 8 rally Sat. night in East Lansing.

A rally attendee holds a candle while listening to speakers at a Prop. 8 rally Sat. night in East Lansing.

The national “Join the Impact” protest was created by an Oregon resident and coordinated over the Internet. According to Join the Impact’s Web site, protests and rallies were planned in more than 300 cities in the U.S. and in 10 different countries, in response to passage last week of Proposition 8 in California.  Prop. 8 amended California’s Constitution to recognize marriage only between a man and a woman.

Cities around the nation holding vigils this evening included San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago, Washington, D.C., New York and Boston, with attendance at some of the events numbering in the tens of thousands. The largest so far appears to be in San Diego with approximately 50,000 marchers.