ODESSA, FL — In response to TOMS shoes founder Blake Mycoskie announcing on “The Tonight Show” that his company is donating $5 million to anti-gun violence groups, Odessa-based AR-15 maker Adams Arms is offering a free 30-round AR 15 magazine to anyone who sends in a pair of TOMS shoes.
Jens Krogh, vice president of sales and marketing for Adams Arms, said the company has launched what it’s calling its Mags for TOMS campaign “to send a message that gun owners will not sit by idle and allow the continued degradation of the rights of the American people.”
“Originally, we were going to burn the shoes, but decided that’s no way to treat something that could be used again by homeless veterans,” said Krogh. “So we’re going to alter them with a pro-Second Amendment message and then donate them to several worthy causes for veterans and impoverished people living in oppressive countries where they do not have the freedoms we cherish.”
Mycoskie, a vocal gun control advocate, told host Jimmy Fallon on “The Tonight Show” Nov. 19 that his company is donating $5 million to various anti-gun groups lobbying for “universal background checks to end gun violence.”
He said he was motivated to take action following the Nov. 10 shootings at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, California.
“Twelve days ago the shootings happened in Thousand Oaks, and my wife called me and she was scared, and she said, ‘I’m not taking our son to school today,'” Mycoskie told Fallon.”Someone has to do something about it.”
Among the organizations that will receive the $5 million are Black & Brown Gun Violence Prevention Consortium, Everytown for Gun Safety, Faith in Action, Giffords, Livefree, March for Our Lives and Moms Demand Action.
Adams Arms was quick to respond in a blog on its website the following day.
“The reality of the situation is that the concept of a universal background check does nothing to stop criminals from getting a hold of firearms; it only affects the law abiding,” wrote the gun manufacturer.
Founded in 2007, Adams Arms and its 33 employees produce the P Series AR -15 semi-automatic rifle and pistol as well as the industry’s only patented retrofit kit for the AR-15.
Although they are commonly referred to as assault weapons, the AR-15 is classified as a sporting rifle.
According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, “AR” does not stand for “automatic” or “assault” rifle. It stands for “ArmaLite” — the company that created the AR in the 1950s.
Nevertheless, the AR-15 has been targeted by anti-gun groups because it is the rifle used in the Feb. 14 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shootings in Parkland that killed 17 people.
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For the most part, Krogh said the response to Adams Arms’ Mags for TOMS campaign has been positive.
Amend2 Magazine based in Idaho loved the idea so much that it partnered with Adams Arms and donated the first batch of #MagsForTOMS.
The biggest problem, said Krogh, is that many of the people responding to Adam Arms’ challenge on its Facebook page have never heard of TOMS shoes or don’t own a pair.
“I went to TOMS’ website and was going to buy a pair just to get in on this and those are honestly the ugliest shoes I’ve ever seen,” said Julie Hubbard Siegel. “Can I just donate some money to be used to help alter the pairs that are going to be turned in?”
Adams Arms has already received a dozens of pairs of shoes, which employees have decorated with a Second Amendment message. The company will continue to accept donations of TOMS shoes through Jan. 1. They can be mailed to Adams Arms, care of Mags for TOMS, 1551 Gunn Highway, Odessa, FL 33556.
Mycoskie hasn’t commented publicly on Adams Arms’ challenge. However, the Los Angeles-based shoe company said the response to its “End Gun Violence Together” campaign for universal background checks has been overwhelming.
The company is asking the public to support the campaign by sending one of its preprinted postcards off its website to members of Congress. To date, 680,987 postcards have been sent.
Images via Adams Arms and TOMS