Youth and Guns from Guns in American Society: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, Culture, and the LawThe controversy over guns and their standing in American society becomes no more fervent than when it centers on youth— those under 20 years of age, especially those in the teenage years. In the past two decades, high-profile shooting sprees in which the shooters are teenage boys have become a near annual event. The most shocking occurred in 1998 in Littleton, Colorado, where two Columbine High School students killed 12 fellow students, one teacher, and then themselves.