May 23, 1992                 			
For Immediate Release

Vanderbilt Lambda Association
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, Tennesee

For information contact:
Andy Dailey, VLA Chair
Phone:  615-421-6681
Fax:  615-322-2020
Electronic Mail:
bitnet: daileyka@vuctrvax
internet:  daileyka@ctrvax.vanderbilt.edu

Kelly Bliss
Electronic Mail:
bitnet:  blisskw@vuctrvax
internet:  blisskw@ctrvax.vanderbilt.edu


Lt. Tracy Thorne, a Naval flight officer, came out publicly as a gay man on
ABC's _Nightline_ Tuesday, May 19, 1992.  His announcement was made the 
same day that Rep. Pat Schroeder (D-CO) introduced a bill in Congress to end themilitary's policy of barring homosexuals from serving in the armed forces.

Because of his public declaration that he is gay, Thorne was asked the next
day to resign his commission, but refused.  The Navy has begun official
proceedings to discharge Thorne.

Throne said on the program that he would fight any efforts to discharge him.
"I'm not going to go quietly," Thorne said on _Nightline_.  "Hopefully on
my record and the record of several other people before me, we can get
this ban overturned."

Thorne was fourth in his class in Officer Candidate School, and won
"Top Gun" honors at Naval flight school.  Thorne is a graduate of Vanderbilt
University in Nashville, Tennessee, where he was president of the university
chapter of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity.  He is now a member of the 
Vanderbilt Lambda Association, a group for lesbian, gay and bisexual
students, faculty, staff and alumni.

Both Thorne's announcement and Schroeder's bill are aimed at ending 
Department of Defense directive 1332.14, which states, "Homosexuality is
incompatible with military service."  Since 1982, more than 13,000 lesbians
and gay men have been discharged under the policy.  The military has spent
more than $300 million on such discharges.  On the program, Schroeder noted
that a recent poll shows 81 percent of Americans are opposed to the 
Pentagon's current policy.