Barney Frank, who in 1987 became the first sitting Congress member to voluntarily come out as gay, is now responsible for another first — on Saturday night, he married Jim Ready, becoming the first member of Congress to enter into a same-sex marriage.

Frank and Ready met at a political fundraiser in 2005, at which Ready confessed to a longtime crush on Frank after the Congressman came out. What began as a platonic friendship turned into dating — and now a historic marriage, even if the ceremony itself only lasted five minutes.

Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts, who officiated, told guests that Frank wanted the service to be "short and to the point." The couple wrote their vows together, and included references to loving each other "on MSNBC or on Fox."

Wedding guests included John Kerry, Dennis Kucinich, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who expressed her pleasure with the ceremony being held so close to the Fourth of July.

It's about expanding freedom. This opportunity was a long time coming.

No word yet on how Frank's same-sex marriage will undermine or destroy the marriages of his fellow members of Congress.

CORRECTION: Gerry Studds was the first sitting member of Congress to come out as gay following a sex scandal in 1983. The opening paragraph has been amended to distinguish the fact that Barney Frank came out voluntarily.

[Image via AP]