Church Street Freedom Press
July 30, 2004

Guerillas in our Midst

Tennessee Guerilla Women 'the name itself is a good indication of the mission and attitude of the organization. Now take a look at the slogan: "Challenging the conservative politics of sexism, homophobia, racism and classism." The group is primarily 'though not exclusively' female and does not shy away from expressing its concerns and ideas.

For example, on April 14 of this year, they organized a "Veil of No Choice" action in regard to Tennessee Senate Joint Resolution 127, when it was discussed in a House committee hearing. SJR 127 sought to limit choice regarding abortion rights. "We wore veils across our faces in order to demonstrate that Tennessee religious fundamentalists have the same goal as Middle Eastern fundamentalists 'the control of women's bodies,'" said Sandy Smith Madsen, a founding and active member of TN Guerilla Women. "We carried signs that said: 'Stop the TN Taliban,' they were confiscated""

Sandy went on to relate other actions. "On May 10 we held our 'TGW vs. the Right-to-Life' demonstration outside the Capitol." That action included a sign which read: "Outlaw Viagra," which received lots of air time on local television stations. Madsen described the sign by saying "what might happen if the legislature were 83 percent female instead of 83 percent male"

The group also recently produced a special edition of their newsletter called The Tim Chavez Problem. " It was an effort to focus some righteous anger at the Tennessean for their habit of catering to right-wing advertisers." They encouraged people to contact the daily newspaper, including other writers and columnists, to express their concerns about the often featured conservative Chavez and a perceived lack of any consistent liberal balance.

Read entire article here: Guerillas in our midst

Nashville Scene
July 15-21, 2004

Equal Time?
The progressives get tongue-in-cheek with their righteous indignation
By Matt Pulle

Imagine if The Tennessean's Larry Daughtrey and Dwight Lewis fronted for liberal groups as much as Tim Chavez hyped conservative ones? As Tennessee Guerrilla Women, a new pro-gay rights group, points out, the paper's liberal columnists would have to work overtime just to keep pace with Chavez, a one-man PR agency for the Right. In a somewhat tongue-in-cheek e-mail to the paper's two liberal columnists, Sandy Smith Madsen demands equal time from Lewis and Daughtrey and, along the way, documents Chavez's almost creepy obsession with plugging conservative groups. We offer it here:

Read entire article: Equal Time?