Openly Gay John Pérez Sworn In As CA Speaker

California made history on Monday when (as predicted by MadProfessah) 40-year-old John Pérez was officially sworn in as the 68th Speaker of the Assembly, the first gay man to hold what is regarded as the second most powerful political post in the state.

From The Los Angeles Times politics blog, PolitiCal:

Supporters praise Pérez for his intelligence and political instincts, but potential longevity could be his greatest strength. Having served only one year in the Legislature so far, Pérez could remain speaker for almost five years, which would be a remarkably long tenure in the era of term limits.

Equality California, the state's largest LGBT political group has already weighed in:

"Equality California is thrilled to welcome Assemblymember John A. Pérez as Speaker of the Assembly. With his indispensible leadership and stellar track record, we have the utmost confidence in his ability to find solutions to the many challenges California faces.

"California is a true trail blazer with respect to reflecting the state's diversity in our leadership, as we witnessed in the ground breaking election of the first female African-American Speaker two years ago and now the first LGBT Speaker.

"Speaker Pérez is a role model and an inspiration to the LGBT community, especially to LGBT youth struggling to find acceptance at home and in school. We wish him the very best of luck as he embarks on this momentous journey and look forward to continuing our partnership with him in our mission to achieve full equality for LGBT Californians."

You can watch John give his first remarks as the Speaker of the Assembly in the video above.