Viral News Fact | Because its All About News You Should Know that: TOMS founder makes an emotional announcement pledging $5 million to tackle gun violence.

TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie made a record-breaking announcement on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.

TOMS, the shoe brand made famous for its buy one, give one business model, is taking its giving to the next level. Founder Blake Mycoskie is taking on the issue of gun violence, and supporting grassroots efforts to quell America's unique and ongoing problem.

Mycoskie told Jimmy Fallon that the company would be donating $5 million to organizations working to end gun violence—the single largest corporate donation of its kind so far.

He also announced that the TOMS website now has a way for people to easily and quickly let Congress know they want to see legislative action on this issue. Filling out a simple form with your name, address, and email will automatically send a physical postcard to your state's representatives to tell them you want them to support universal background checks—a legislative move more than 90% of Americans say they support. Sending the postcard literally takes 30 seconds—less if you have autofill provide your info.

Some people believe guns already can't be purchased legally without a background check. They're wrong.

Federal law does require licensed gun sellers to conduct background checks on people purchasing a firearm. However, not all gun sales are conducted by licensed gun dealers. Private sellers can sell a gun at a gun show or online without conducting a background check. This "gun show loophole," which is really just a private seller loophole, means that a person can legally purchase a gun without a background check as long as they aren't buying from a licensed dealer.

Opponents of gun control legislation who claim that background checks are already required are either purposefully overlooking the private sales exception, or they don't know that it exists. (For a peer-reviewed article explaining all of this, go here.)

With more than 30,000 gun deaths each year, the U.S. is a complete outlier among developed nations when it comes to gun violence. Some say mental illness and not guns is the problem, but we don't have higher rates of mental illness than other nations. Others point to lack of respect for life or some kind of vague "evil" to explain gun violence, but there's no evidence that Americans are more evil than other people in developed nations.

What does set us apart from every other developed country where citizens can legally buy and own guns is our easy and ubiquitous access to guns, along with inconsistent state and local gun laws. That's why we need to focus on sensible gun legislation at the federal level.

Mycoskie's wife and son prompted this decision to tackle gun violence.

Supporting issues in American society appears to be the next logical step in the company's philanthropy. Blake Mycoskie founded TOMS in 2006 as a way to provide shoes to kids around the world who don't have them. His One for One business model, where for every product purchased one is donated, has resulted in more than 80 million pairs of shoes being donated through TOMS Shoes, more than 400,000 pairs of glasses through TOMS Eyewear and 335,000 weeks of safe drinking water through TOMS Roasting Company.

Mycoskie teared up as he explained to Jimmy Fallon what prompted the generous donation to end gun violence.

"Twelve days ago," he said, "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. This happened two weeks ago in a synagogue, and a yoga studio, and someone has to do something about it.'" Mycoskie says he got off the phone with her and thought about it, and said, "You know what? Dammit, we're going to do something about it."

The organizations that will receive the money include Giffords, Everytown for Gun Safety, Moms Demand Action, March for Our Lives and others who Mycoskie calls "the most amazing organizations who are working hard on the ground every day to end gun violence."

Go to the TOMS website to let your legislators know you're part of the 90% who support universal background checks. Though certainly not a comprehensive solution to America's gun violence problem, at least it's a start.

Toms Founder Blake Mycoskie Announces $5 Million Donation to End Gun Violence
TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie announces a new campaign to end gun violence by making a record-breaking donation
Posted by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Monday, November 19, 2018

Editor's note: GOOD Media Group is partnering with TOMS on an initiative to raise awareness for its anti-gun violence campaign. This article was produced separately from that partnership with full editorial independence.