Former Florida Governor Charlie Crist on Thursday called on Governor Rick Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi to stop defending the state's ban on gay marriage.

Bondi is defending the ban in federal and state courts and has filed appeals in four cases where a state judge found the ban invalid.

(Related: Fourth judge declares Florida gay marriage ban invalid.)

Crist made his remarks in the course of accepting a gubernatorial endorsement from LGBT rights advocate SAVE.

“It’s unfortunate that Rick Scott and Pam Bondi feel this way about gay marriage and are not embracing or tolerant of it,” Crist said. “It’s embarrassing, frankly. 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.”

“They should cease and desist on fighting gay marriage – same-sex marriage – and equality. The time has passed to do that,” he added.

While serving as governor in 2006, Crist signed a petition to put Florida's constitutional amendment defining marriage as a heterosexual union on the ballot. Voters approved the ban two years later.

Since leaving the Republican Party – with a pit stop as an independent – Crist has reversed course, apologizing for supporting the ban and stating that chief among his reasons for leaving the GOP was its opposition to gay rights.

Crist officially became a Democrat in late 2012.