Gov. Charlie Crist has taken another leap toward the political center. The St. Petersburg Times reports that the governor implied he opposes Florida’s gay adoption ban.
“A better way and approach would be to let judges make that decision on a case-by-case basis,” Crist said.
The comments could draw gay voters to Crist in the 2010 elections, in which he’s running for the Senate as a political independent. The Republican Party expelled him earlier this year, in part because he dared to hug Barack Obama at a political event. Since then, Crist has endorsed the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and generally fashioned himself as a newfangled centrist.
Crist also told Time in a video interview that gay adoption should be approached with a “live and let live attitude.”
But he didn’t promise to try to change the state’s gay adoption ban, which is unique in the nation.
“I guess the best decision maker would be a judge,” Crist said. “Currently we have a law on the books in Florida that precludes that from happening. I’m sure the next legislature, or maybe the next governor, might address those issues.”
As governor, Crist made no effort to overturn the ban, and his replacement could be Attorney General Bill McCollum, a Republican. If McCollum wins, he’s unlikely to lift the gay adoption ban unless overcome by contrition. He’s taking heat for hiring the now-infamous George Rekers to testify against gay adoption as an expert state witness in 2008, a move that has become a burning embarrassment since Rekers was caught in April vacationing with a rentboy.
Editor’s note: Norm Kent is a reporter with the South Florida Gay News and this article is used with permission.
