Why it 's so difficult to solve America 's gun problem can somewhat be explained within 20 seconds of the 17th episode of `` The Family Guy 's '' eighth season . Brian and Stewie are trapped in a bank vault and after some silly banter , which leads to a ridiculous scuffle , Stewie ends up grabbing a gun and pointing it at Brian : . Brian : Look , Stewie , c'mon you do n't know how to use that thing . Stewie : Oh really ? What if I hold it sideways like a black guy . Brian : Whoa whoa , c'mon man , take it easy , all right ? I do n't want any trouble . It 's the typical , racially charged bit of satire that defines the animated series , with the added irony being that holding a gun sideways is actually more of a sign of not knowing `` how to use that thing '' than holding it correctly . That 's because aiming and thus hitting your target is harder with a side grip . Nonetheless , since the mid-1990s pantomiming holding a gun sideways has been the default pose struck by the misinformed who want to appear intimidating and/or cool . Each time a gun rights advocate talks about the Second Amendment and hunting , I think about the sheep holding their guns to the side . When it comes to the conversation on guns , we must remember one size does not fit all . There are at least two Americas , and one of them is likely populated with folks imitating fictional characters in gangster movies -- unaware that , reportedly , film directors instructed actors to hold the prop that way so they could capture the face and the gun in the same frame . It 's all Hollywood . Pretend . Except for the tens of thousands who are wounded or killed each year in our city streets . Sadly , that 's all too real . And by city streets I mean where predominantly blacks and Latinos live . Pretending the weekly gun violence that grips places such as Chicago and Baltimore does n't run along racial lines is counterproductive . Just as grouping mass school shootings perpetrated by the mentally ill with gang violence is counterproductive . Each time we link an Adam Lanza with FBI statistics about Detroit , we move further from addressing either problem . Those who are truly concerned about the regularly underreported bloodshed in urban America must resist piggybacking the media coverage that swirls around the camera-ready anomalies like Columbine . Stewie making a joke about holding a handgun sideways has very little if anything to do with background checks or mental health care . But it does highlight the shortfalls of public education and the war on drugs . It shines a light on whom the National Rifle Association is not advocating for , as no licensed instructor would tell a student to hold the weapon that way . Instead of constantly searching for sweeping laws that approach all gun violence as one in the same , we need to recognize that the comedic bit in episode 17 of the eighth season of `` The Family Guy '' has nothing to do with Newtown . Until we get there in our talks , all we will ever have is talk .
The CNN Guns Project explores the role of guns in the United States . One size does not fit all when it comes to talking about guns , Granderson says . We ' n't link school guns with FBI statistics about Detroit , he says . Until we stop pushing for sweeping laws , all we have is guns , he says .