Gayest. Inauguration. Ever.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Barack Obama’s second inauguration was historic for a variety of reasons, but for many the Jan. 22 events will be remembered for the unprecedented inclusion of the LGBT community. The Rev. Dr. Nancy Wilson, moderator and international leader of the Metropolitan Community Churches, read the Bible at the traditional Interfaith Prayer Service at the National Cathedral. Wilson is a lesbian and MCC’s primary outreach is to the LGBT and allied community.

After taking the oath of office, the president gave his inaugural address. In it, he included Stonewall among the historic events in American history that have contributed to equality. He also declared that same-sex couples must have the right to marry for the country to live up to its ideals.

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) President Chad Griffin observed: “President Barack Obama made history today by connecting the lives of committed and loving lesbian and gay couples fighting for marriage equality to this nation’s proud tradition of equal rights for all. Moments after swearing to uphold the Constitution for all Americans on Bibles owned by Abraham Lincoln and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., President Obama declared passionately that our national journey towards a more perfect union cannot be finished until equal protection under the law extends to each and every American regardless of who they are or whom they love.