The Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings generated widespread public awareness and led to an unprecedented debate about gun violence. According to the US Secret Service, there is no profile for a school shooter. However, because shootings tend to be planned in advance and young people often tell others about them, a threat assessment approach was recommended. After Sandy Hook, millions of viewers tuned in to various politically motivated media debates. Media bias favoring the NRA's view of the Second Amendment (protecting individual gun ownership) was so pervasive that even many gun control advocates seemed unaware that the federal high courts did not had ever concluded that a gun law violated the Second Amendment. While it is well known that guns contribute to many of the fears of today's students, this behavior in America's neighborhoods cannot be ignored. The impact of gun violence has a devastating and lasting effect on the community. As victims and their families recover, basic research continues in search of answers. The motivation for shootings is difficult to pin down, but gender is the most obvious variable when it comes to gun violence in the United States. From a young age, boys learn that aggressive behavior is an acceptable norm and that fighting is essentially a male gender role. Young men learn from watching television or social media that athletes involved in violent crimes usually end up with lucrative contracts and are considered sporting legends. Throughout adolescence, boys are guided by various agents of socialization: from family to school, the media and peer groups become the keys to the young man's social stability. As boys grow up, they eventually develop their own gender expressions, evident in the way they dress, act or...... middle of paper ...... their fingers know how to go and present yourself without fear. The Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings were horrific and sparked new public debate and awareness about gun control. Even if guns factor into students' fears, gang activity in America's neighborhoods cannot be ignored. The impact of peer pressure, gang membership, and power associated with gun violence has a devastating and lasting impact on the community. Although the motivation for mass school shootings is difficult to pin down, gender is the most obvious variable when it comes to gun violence. Socialization is an ongoing process that includes learning new norms and values. For some of these young people, gangs become an alternative way to move from adolescence to adulthood. The absence of socially tolerable rites of passage from childhood to adulthood is not a good justification for the development of gangs..