New York Mayor Ed Koch had a commonsense approach to hiring first responders, and it made a lifelong impression on me when I first heard it maybe 40 years ago. "I don’t care what sex a firefighter is," Mayor Koch said all those years ago, "as long as they can carry a 200 pound Mayor out of a burning building." When it comes to dangerous jobs — first responders, soldiers, sailors, pilots, industrial workers, etc. — every other consideration must come in second to the question of whether or not this particular applicant has the physical and mental stamina to...