“You and I, as citizens, have the power to set this country’s course,” President Obama said in his second inauguration speech on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.  “You and I, as citizens, have the obligation to shape the debates of our time – not only with the votes we cast, but with the voices we lift in defense of our most ancient values and enduring ideals.”  
Gay rights, tolerance toward immigration reform, climate change and the preservation of social welfare were among the top issues addressed in Obama’s second inauguration speech that ceremonially paved the way into his second term.
Gun control was not a major concern at the time of the election, but after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting and other recent shootings, there has been a call for action on issues of gun safety.  
“So many weapons today are semiautomatic so it’s really hard to define and limit what’s going to be unavailable to the public,” Paul Wilson, history department head, said.  “Perhaps the public has changed their position on gun control, but I am not sure.”   
Despite high hopes at Monday’s inauguration, high unemployment rates, growing national debt, a partisan divide and a war that has lasted for over a decade are problems that will follow the President and his administration from his first term in office.  
With eyes set on the future, Obama looks forward to the next four years with hopes that equality in America will continue to prosper and help build the future of the country.  
“It is now our generation’s task to carry on what those pioneers began. For our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers, and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts. Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law — for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well,” Obama said.  
The President acknowledged that the path to sustainable energy sources would be difficult, but it is necessary since “knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations.  Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires, and crippling drought, and more powerful storms.”
President Obama said initiatives with Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security help to strengthen the nation and move it forward.  
“They do not make us a nation of takers; they free us to take the risks that make this country great,” Obama said.  “We reject the belief that America must choose between caring for the generation that built this country and investing in the generation that will build its future.”  
“We’re going to have to resolve the potential crises dealing with Medicare and Social Security because they are overfunded and we have overpromised,” Wilson said.  “But you’re dealing with a powerful constituency, the elderly, who hold most of the votes.”  
Wilson said paying for these services would become the responsibility of the younger generation, but those under the age of 24 are not very active in politics.  
In 2008, President Obama and Chief Justice John Roberts confused the wording of the oath, which raised concern over its validity.  To ensure the requirements of the constitution, Obama took his second oath of office one day after the public inauguration four years ago.  
Monday’s public inauguration ceremonies mark the fourth time Obama has taken the oath of office.  A private oath ceremony, where the President took his third oath, was held on Sunday according to a mandate in the 20th amendment that was ratified in 1933, which states that all future inaugurations be held on Jan. 20.