Here is a question up for discussion for anyone who can answer it. One of my buddies emailed me this exchange about holding a handgun:

Don't ask why, but I've been trying to figure out the origin of the 'gangsta horizontal gun stance'--you know, the one from the movies where they hold the gun sideways. Is there any good reason, ergonomic or otherwise, for holding a gun sideways, except maybe when firing blindly around a corner? The answer is apparently no (and in fact there are plenty of reasons not to in terms of accuracy, etc.). 

So why? And which came first, the Hollywood portrayal or actual street usage? Well, here's one theory as to the origin. I'm not sure I believe it, but haven't heard one any more plausible:

"You know why they hold the gun sideways, don't you? A bunch of Hollywood stuntmen and actors got tired of the fact that automatic pistols tend to eject the cartridge back and up. It's not usually a problem when you fire bullets at the range with safety glasses. It is a problem when you're on camera with no eye protection. Add to the mix that blank cartridges are often packed with three times the powder to get that great muzzle flash and bang the audience has grown to expect. So the cartridge is ejected three times hotter and with three times the force. So now all those actors hold the gun sideways because, let's face it, hot brass in the face is unpleasant. Those gangsta wannabes holding the gun sideways learned to shoot by watching movies. They didn't learn to shoot by actually shooting somebody. So be thankful they're showing off their ignorance."

http://blogs.smh.com.au/entertainment/archives/videohead/005613.html

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I passed this on to a friend of mine who is a licensed gun dealer and gun collector. This is what he wrote:

i do not have a clue about where this originated from.  the claim that blanks have 3x the powder is false.  there is a blank called a "three in one" because it can be used in rifles (1), pistols (2), and revolvers (3).  so i doubt the explanation is valid either.  btw: it is called "canting" your gun.  bad habit. 

Does anybody have something to add about whether the physics of firing a gun in a sideways position tends to promote or degrade accuracy or some other aspect of performance?