Florida Governor Charlie Crist on
Monday clarified his position on a federal gay marriage ban.
Appearing Sunday on CNN's State of
the Union, Crist, who is running in Florida's Senate race as an
independent, said: “When it comes to marriage, I think it is a
sacred institution, I believe it is between a man and a woman.”
But he added that he's a “live and
let live kind of guy.”
“[P]artners living together, you
know, I don't have a problem with it,” he said. “It's just how I
feel.”
On Monday, Crist released a statement
saying that he does not support adding a gay marriage ban to the U.S.
Constitution.
“I was not discussing an amendment to
the U.S. Constitution banning same-sex marriage, which I do not
support, but rather reaffirming my position regarding Florida's
constitutional ban that I articulated while running for governor.”
On the program, host Ed Henry asked
Crist if he, like his Republican rival Marco Rubio, supports “a
constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.”
In his statement issued Monday, Crist,
who's
been the subject of numerous gay rumors himself, repeated his
support for civil unions, not marriage, for gay couples.