Openly gay John Pérez was sworn in as speaker of the California Assembly on March 1.
A Los Angeles Democrat, Pérez now is the highest-ranking openly gay politician in the state.
The Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles sang “Brand New Day” from The Wiz at the ceremony.
“California is a true trailblazer with respect to reflecting the state’s diversity in our leadership, as we witnessed in the groundbreaking election of the first female African-American speaker two years ago and now the first LGBT speaker,” said Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California.
“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,” Kors said.
By Rex Wockner
