Men and women compete openly.
José Sarria, a drag performer and gay rights advocate who many historians contend was the first openly gay person to campaign for public office in the United States when he ran for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1961, died on Monday at his home in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, N.M.
Moreover, China, which has not been hesitant about alleging American transgressions in other areas and openly contends it is a victim rather than perpetrator, has refrained from specifically fingering the Pentagon for claimed break-ins into its computer systems.
But the sexual orientation of Sept. 11 heroes is not really irrelevant, gay civil rights groups contend, at a time when openly gay men and lesbians are barred from the military and when gay couples do not have the same rights as heterosexual ones.
Mr. Johnson will also have to contend with dissent among department employees whose unions have openly criticized Mr. Obama's immigration enforcement policies.
One reason for the shift in attitudes, some political scientists contend, is a rising number of gays acknowledging their sexual preference openly in various walks of life, from workers on factory floors to Hollywood stars.
Fed officials were openly pleased, contending that the markets had already begun to do much of their job for them in advance.
Now that the draft is done, three Republican members of Congress contend that it significantly expands abortion rights, and are accusing the United States Embassy in Kenya of openly supporting it in violation of federal rules.
Williams, of course, had to contend with the double bind of white supremacy: whether to supplicate to white morality or to openly resist.
It left Dallas still looking for reinforcements to contend in the West, and the Nets still looking for a way to unload Kidd, who has become openly disillusioned in New Jersey.
Mr. Paciello openly acknowledges knowing the members of the Bath Avenue Crew from his days in New York City, although his lawyers contend that he never committed a crime with them.
