Charlie Crist on Wednesday told
reporters that he regrets signing an anti-gay marriage petition in
2006.
Crist was running for governor of
Florida as a Republican in 2006 when he signed a petition by the
group Florida4Marriage.org proposing a ballot measure to amend the
state's constitution to define marriage as a heterosexual union. The
effort failed to gain sufficient support. However, voters approved a
similar amendment in 2008.
“Would I do it today? No,” Crist
is quoted as saying by the Tampa
Bay Times. “I think the best way to judge where my heart
is is to look at the deeds that I have done, whether as attorney
general, governor – restoration of rights, civil rights cases,
things of that nature that I think show a compassionate heart and
hopefully someone who cares and knows who the boss is. And the boss
is the people of Florida.”
Crist, who last week officially
joined the Democratic Party, three months after speaking at the
Democratic National Convention (DNC), added that he's a Democrat
“because they care, and they're compassionate.”