The copy editing team at the Seattle Times either had too much or not enough time on their hands this afternoon, when they ran with the headline: “With Dicks in, all 6 WA congressional Democrats favor repeal of gay-marriage ban.” The reference was to Rep. Norm Dicks (D-WA) who had just announced his support for the repeal of the state’s prohibition on gay marriage, but the effect of that headline was something quite different from what the Seattle Times had intended.



Last updated at 4:20 p.m. after receiving a response from Dicks’ office, the Seattle Times piece appears to have been amended several times:

President Obama’s belated if unequivocal support for gay marriges puts him on the same side as at least five all six congressional Democrats from Washington state. The sixth Democrat, Rep. Norm Dicks of Bremerton, voted for the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)that defined marriage as between a woman and a man. Since then, he has strongly backed gay-rights issues, including voting against an amendment last year that would have barred military chaplains from marrying same-sex couples. But Dicks has not explicitly endorsed same-sex marriages. His spokesoman did not respond to calls and emails Wednesday. George Behan, spokesman for Dicks, said Wednesday Dicks plans to sign on as co-sponsor of Respect for Marriage Act, which would repeal DOMA that he voted for. The other Democrats, Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray and Reps. Jim McDermott of Seattle, Rick Larsen of Lake Stevens and Adam Smith of Tacoma, already are co-sponsors of the repeal bill.

The original headline has since been deleted. Fortunately, it was preserved in a screen capture and will become social network share fodder for at least the next 24-hours.

h/t James Taranto,

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