Is It Such a Big Deal That Sharon Lubinski Is America’s First Openly Gay U.S. Marshal?

The U.S. Senate just confirmed Sharon Lubinski as the first openly gay U.S. marshal. That’s sort of neat. We don’t know much about Ms. Lubinski, other than that she’ll be heading up the Minnesota post, but she has sparked some, uh, rather intriguing discussions across the interwebs.

Like this one, from Right Pundits:

Clearly law enforcement attracts people high in testosterone levels although I am unfamiliar with a study that confirms the obvious. Men in uniform are often accused of putting their manhood before their training. The view is often unfair because most people in law enforcement are highly professional, but like any stereotype there is enough truth in it for the label to stick.

Enter Sharon Lubinski into the picture. What I find remarkable about the story is not that she is gay but that she is supposedly the first gay U.S. Marshall in our history. I mean, given the people who are attracted to policing is it reasonable to believe that a substantial percentage of women in these positions are lesbian?

What Sharon Lubinski is up against is a law enforcement culture that does not generally embrace gay lifestyles, which might be why gay websites are going hog wild without knowing much about her. She should be applauded for announcing fifteen years ago that she is lesbian, because very few women feel comfortable coming out of the closet in that work environment. That takes us back to the testosterone. Sharon Lubinski may by the first openly gay U.S. Marshall confirmed by the Senate, but she cannot possibly be the first gay Marshall. Or can she?

Yes, having an openly gay woman serving in such a senior law enforcement post is a pretty remarkable thing. But it’s remarkable because — like Paris Hilton being famous for being famous — it’s remarkable. But the day Homeland Security Sec. Janet Napolitano shatters through that oak-lined closet? Lubinski, or at least her story, will be a shrinking violet.