Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, an independent seeking a seat in the U.S. Senate, today told CNN’s Ed Henry that he would support a federal constitutional amendment prohibiting individual states from allowing same-sex couples to marry.

“When it comes to marriage, I think it is a sacred institution, I believe it is between a man and a woman,” Crist said, “but partners living together, you know, I don’t have a problem with it.”

“It’s just how I feel,” Crist added.

Anti-gay activists have repeatedly pushed Congress to consider a Federal Marriage Amendment, but it has never gathered enough support to pass.  The amendment was a central issue in the 2004 presidential election.

Currently five states and the District of Columbia allow same-sex couples to legally wed.  A federal constitutional amendment would end marriage equality in those jurisdictions.

UPDATE:  Well that was quick.  Hours after he said he still supported a constitutional amendment to ban marriage equality for same-sex couples, Crist has retreated to a slightly more moderate position.  He issued the following clarification tonight:

“In an interview that aired today, I was not discussing an amendment to the U.S. Constitution banning same-sex marriage, which I do not support, but rather reaffirming my position regarding Florida’s constitutional ban that I articulated while running for Governor. In fact, the interviewer’s question reflected just that. I am fully supportive of civil unions and will continue to be as a United States Senator, but believe marriage is a sacred institution between a man and a woman.”

Nearly 60 percent of registered voters in Rhode Island now say same-sex couples should be able to legally marry, a ten percentage point jump in just the last two years, according to a report on a new poll in the Providence Journal.

Even more encouraging for gay couples, when pollsters clarified the distinction between civil marriages and religious ceremonies, support for legal marriage grew to 66 percent.

“It shows, for the first time, a convincing majority of Rhode Island voters supporting equality,” said David Walker, vice president of Greenberg Quinlan and Rosner Research, a Democratic polling firm based in Washington, D.C., that conducted the poll in July.

“Marriage equality is inevitable,” Walker said. “The question is not whether, but when.”

Which issues do voters list as “very important” in the 2010 election?  A new Pew Research Center poll finds “same-sex marriage” ranks dead last.

Just 32 percent of all respondents in a recent poll of registered voters said the issue ranked as “very important,” with 37 percent of Republicans and 26 percent of Democratic respondents saying so.

Forty-eight percent said same-sex marriage was not important.

Ahead of the 13th-place “same-sex marriage” on the list of issues important to voters:

1. Economy
2. Jobs
3. Healthcare
4. Terrorism
5. Budget deficit
6. Taxes
7. Financial system
8. Energy
9. Afghanistan
10. Immigration
11. Environment
12. Abortion

Champagne corks are popping in the Golden State.  A federal judge in California has lifted a temporary stay of his landmark decision striking down Proposition 8, the 2008 ballot measure that put a halt to weddings.

Same-sex couples across the state are expected to begin lining up for wedding licenses again nearly two years after voters narrowly approved Prop 8.  Still, it’s unclear how long couples will be able to take advantage of the restored right to marry.  Prop 8 proponents who are appealing the Prop 8 decision are also likely to appeal today’s ruling on resuming marriages to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

A new CNN poll released yesterday found that for the first time a majority of Americans believe same-sex couples should have the right to legally marry.  Fifty-two percent said it should be legal, while 46 percent opposed marriage equality.

Nate Silver at Fivethirtyeight.com has been analyzing recent polling on the issue, and concludes that the rapid shift in opinion toward marriage equality likely means that ”’having the debate’ is helpful to the gay marriage cause.”

UPDATE:  Same-sex couples will have to wait until August 18 at 5pm to get married.  The judge’s order lifted the stay, but then he stayed today’s order until next Wednesday.  In the interim, Prop 8 proponents will appeal to the Ninth Circuit to issue its own stay.

The professional organization representing more than 400,000 attorneys in the U.S. has adopted a resolution urging state legislatures to allow same-sex couples to marry.  The ABA’s annual meeting is underway in San Francisco.

The measure, which was sponsored by a New York delegation, was opposed by only one speaker during the debate, according to the Associated Press.

The Advocate reported the text of the resolution:

RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association urges state, territorial, and tribal governments to eliminate all of their legal barriers to civil marriage between two persons of the same sex who are otherwise eligible to marry.