Charlie Crist Joins Lawsuit Challenging Florida's Traditional Marriage Law

Despite having supported the proposed state constitutional amendment recognizing only traditional marriage which passed in the 2008 elections, former Gov. Charlie Crist filed an amicus brief in a lawsuit challenging that law on Friday.

In just the last six years, our society has evolved and moved past the prejudices rooted in our past, said Crist, who changed political affiliations -- twice -- during that six-year period. Further, science has uniformly reached the conclusion that heterosexual marriages are just as valued and revered as they have ever been; and children raised by gay and lesbian parents fare just as well as kids raised in straight families.

Thus, with the arc of history now, in fact, bending toward justice, this issue of marriage equality will almost certainly not even be an issue for the children and grandchildren of this state, Crist added. But it is still the duty of those in the present to recognize that the legitimacy of government depends upon its willingness to fairly, transparently, and equitably administer the law. That goal is frustrated by denying an entire class of citizens equality in the institution of marriage simply because of who they are and whom they love.

Hearings begin in Miami on Pareto v. Ruvin next week.