Controversial Actions and Statements:
Manuel Fernandez
Manny Fernandez (Board Member)
Longtime gun rights lobbyist Manuel “Manny” Fernandez is a graduate of California State University, and once lived in Cuba. He is also the founder of the state organization, Californians Against Corruption (CAC), which came under fire for violations of campaign law during the 1990s. In 2008, Fernandez received $25,500 in compensation from the National Rifle Association.
Manny Fernandez (Board Member)
Commenting on the gun control debate, Fernandez said, “The only reason [the U.S. Government hasn’t] been able to defeat us, it's not a matter of money, it's a matter of people. Because we have what they don't have. We have the people, and in the end, we have the guns.”
Manny Fernandez (Board Member)
Fernandez is the founder of the organization Californians Against Corruption (CAC). According to Mother Jones magazine, “In 1994, CAC lobbied for a recall vote of California State Sen. David Roberti, a longtime gun control advocate. The vote failed, but still cost taxpayers $500,000. Fernandez was ousted from CAC when he declared publicly that the recall effort had been the gun lobby's revenge for Roberti's sponsorship of a 1989 California law restricting assault weapons. In October, the California Fair Political Practices Commission found CAC guilty of 404 violations of campaign laws, including concealing contributions from the NRA and other gun groups and failing to file proper records. The commission fined CAC a record $808,000.”
Manny Fernandez (Board Member)
In 1983, Fernandez was convicted of criminal possession of a machine gun.