The President has nominated Assistant Minneapolis Police Chief Sharon Lubinski to be Minnesota's U.S. Marshal, one of the country's top law enforcement jobs.
UPDATE 12/28/09: Senate confirms first homosexual U.S. marshal
-- From "AP: Lubinski would be first openly gay U.S. Marshal" by Eric Roper, Minneapolis Star Tribune 10/21/09
An Associated Press profile of Lubinski released . . . notes that she would also be the first openly gay U.S. Marshal in the country (and the second woman). Lubinski came out publicly on the front page of the Star Tribune in 1993, inspiring other officers to do the same, the story says.
A quick search of our archives turns up the 1993 article by reporter Glenn Howatt titled "Lesbian officer looked within, and came out."
A few weeks later, Minneapolis Deputy Chief Robert Allen said he was gay as well.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "US marshal pick was already gay rights pioneer" by Patrick Condon, Associated Press 10/21/09
Though some gay rights activists have criticized the nomination as nothing more than a symbolic gesture from a president they say has lagged behind on key gay issues, others note the move is a step in the right direction toward ending a culture of discrimination.
U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who recommended Lubinski for the job, said Wednesday she did so because of Lubinski's leadership and her respect from fellow officers — not her sexual orientation.
Hestness, who described Lubinski as a friend outside work, said she's been with her partner, a landscape designer, for more than 20 years. Not long after coming out, Lubinski led a police task force on gay issues, and she currently teaches a course in police diversity in the criminal justice program at a Minnesota community college.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
