{"id":196,"date":"2014-01-09T00:00:56","date_gmt":"2014-01-09T00:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/?page_id=196"},"modified":"2014-01-09T23:18:33","modified_gmt":"2014-01-09T23:18:33","slug":"maryland-couples-await-2013-as-marriage-equality-law-takes-effect-at-1201-a-m","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/?page_id=196","title":{"rendered":"NATIONAL News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Charlie Crist apologizes for supporting efforts to ban same-sex marriage in Fla.
\n<\/b>By LISA KEEN | Keen News Service<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

In an extraordinary interview, Florida\u2019s former Republican Governor Charlie Crist has apologized for having supported efforts to ban on same-sex marriage on the ballot in that state in 2008.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry I did that. It was a mistake. I was wrong. Please forgive,\u201d said Crist, in an interview with Watermark,<\/i> an LGBT news organization in Florida.<\/p>\n

Crist was the Republican governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011. Crist is currently running for the Democratic nomination for governor, saying that his former political party \u201cwent nuts.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, Watermark<\/i> publisher Tom Dyer, who conducted the interview December 17, didn\u2019t let Crist off the hook. He noted Crist also supported limiting marriage to heterosexual couples when Crist ran for senator in 2006 and that he expressed a belief that children who need to be adopted would be best off in \u201ctraditional\u201d heterosexual homes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you look back at the circumstances, one could come to the conclusion that your shifts in opinion were either politically expedient\u2026\u201d said Dyer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were. They were. And it was wrong,\u201d said Crist, interrupting. \u201cThat\u2019s what I\u2019m telling you. And I\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nadine Smith, chief executive officer of Equality Florida, said she was \u201cglad to see someone who has done harm publicly pledge to work to repair the damage.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy activism is based on the premise that people can and do change,\u201d said Smith, who has been an LGBT activist for many years. \u201cI\u2019m particularly proud of Tom Dyer the publisher of Watermark for pulling no punches and really zeroing in on the issues. He asked the questions that needed to be asked and that we deserved to have publicly and thoroughly answered. I can\u2019t recall the last time I\u2019ve heard a politician say \u2018I was wrong. I am sorry\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crist told Dyer his earlier positions were \u201cexamples of me trying to be a good Republican.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t do it anymore and I\u2019m sorry I did,\u201d said Crist. \u201cI made a mistake. I\u2019m not perfect\u2026please don\u2019t hold me to that standard. And I\u2019m sincerely sorry. I understand when it\u2019s necessary to say I was wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCan you convince us that your present views aren\u2019t once again driven by political expediency?\u201d asked Dyer. \u201cCan you convince us that the positions you\u2019ve recently expressed are heartfelt, and something we can count on in the future?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI just did,\u201d said Crist. \u201cThere will be doubters, and they have a right to that. But I ask that they have a little faith.\u201d Crist likened his change of position on same-sex marriage to that of President Obama, who famously evolved from supporting only civil unions to supporting marriage for same-sex couples.<\/p>\n

Crist said he has urged a state representative who is sponsoring a bill to create a domestic partnership registry in Florida to \u201cgo for marriage.\u201d<\/p>\n

A poll of 1,000 likely voters in late November showed Crist with a slight lead over incumbent Republican Governor Rick Scott, but that lead has diminished over the past from a high of 16 points last March, to only four points in November.<\/p>\n

Amazon pulls book telling parents to ignore their gay kids<\/b> <\/b><\/p>\n

Written by notorious anti-gay radio host Linda Harvey, the book tells parents to ignore their children when they say they’re gay. The radical anti-LGBT leader of Mission: America Linda Harvey, the book claims to \u2018help\u2019 teens realize their \u2018bright future\u2019 regardless of \u2018same-sex attractions or gender confusion\u2019.<\/p>\n

Titled Maybe He\u2019s Not Gay: Another View on Homosexuality, the book insists \u2018as more and more young people announce this is their identity, it\u2019s time to take a closer look.\u2019<\/p>\n

On coming out, Harvey says many young people think it is a \u2018new civil right\u2019 to be \u2018who you are\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u2018But there\u2019s a problem. Are we sure this is the truth?\u2019 she says. \u2018Does this identity bring the promised liberation and the key to a whole new life?<\/p>\n

\u2018Does it lift the burden of secrecy \u2013 or begin a different kind of struggle?\u2019<\/p>\n

According to Back2Stonewall.com, Amazon pulled the book deemed \u2018irresponsible and potentially dangerous.\u2019<\/p>\n

Harvey has a long history of airing her homophobic views.<\/p>\n

In the past, she has said LGBT communities are not \u2018people\u2019, and should not be given equal protection under US law.<\/p>\n

Harvey said in 2011 gay rights advocates were \u2018masters of demonic manipulation\u2019.<\/p>\n

She has also referred to the It Gets Better video project as \u2018wrong, it’s evil, it’s dark\u2019.<\/p>\n

In August 2011, Harvey said weekend radio show that \u2018There is no proof that there\u2019s ever anything like a gay, lesbian or bisexual or transgendered child, or teen or human.\u2019<\/p>\n

The Southern Poverty Law Center, a US civil rights organization has designated Harvey and Mission America as an active anti-gay hate group.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Charlie Crist apologizes for supporting efforts to ban same-sex marriage in Fla. By LISA KEEN | Keen News Service In an extraordinary interview, Florida\u2019s former Republican Governor Charlie Crist has apologized for having supported efforts to ban on same-sex marriage on the ballot in that state in 2008. \u201cI\u2019m sorry I did that. It was a mistake. I was wrong. Please forgive,\u201d said Crist, in an interview with Watermark, an LGBT news organization in Florida. Crist was the Republican governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011. Crist is currently running for the Democratic nomination for governor, saying that his former political party \u201cwent nuts.\u201d However, Watermark publisher Tom Dyer, who conducted the interview December 17, didn\u2019t let Crist off the hook. He noted Crist also supported limiting marriage to heterosexual couples when Crist ran for senator in 2006 and that he expressed a belief that children who need to be adopted would be best off in \u201ctraditional\u201d heterosexual homes. \u201cWhen you look back at the circumstances, one could come to the conclusion that your shifts in opinion were either politically expedient\u2026\u201d said Dyer. \u201cThey were. They were. And it was wrong,\u201d said Crist, interrupting. \u201cThat\u2019s what I\u2019m telling you. And […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":43,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/196"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=196"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/196\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":522,"href":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/196\/revisions\/522"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/43"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}