FLORIDA: Charlie Crist Tells Gov & AG To Stop Defending Gay Marriage Ban

Via Steve Rothaus at the Miami Herald:

Charlie Crist, Florida's former Republican governor and attorney general, says current Gov. Rick Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi don't have to defend the state's 2008 gay marriage ban in court. Crist, who is running to become governor again (this time as a Democrat), spoke Thursday as he accepted LGBT-rights group SAVE's endorsement at City Hall the Restaurant in Miami. "It’s unfortunate that Rick Scott and Pam Bondi feel this way about gay marriage and are not embracing or tolerant of it. It’s embarrassing, frankly," Crist said. "The rest of America is moving forward and they’re still on the wrong side of history on this issue. But we can fix it and they call it an election. Only 89 days away, so help is on the way. "What would I do differently as governor? Everything. To this issue, specifically, he shouldn’t be fighting it through the attorney general’s office. They should cease and desist on fighting gay marriage -- same-sex marriage -- and equality. The time has passed to do that."

Crist supported the ban when governor but reversed his position after leaving the GOP and becoming a Democrat. Recent polls show him tied with Scott in the gubernatorial race.