TOMPAINE.COM is still quoting Bellesiles on the Second Amendment. Well, strictly speaking they’ve published a book excerpt that quotes Bellesiles, but it still doesn’t do much for their credibility:

Moreover, as historian Michael Bellesiles has found, actual firearms ownership in America has been greatly exaggerated and mythologized. He reports that, from colonial times to 1850, gun ownership never exceeded 10 percent of the population, owing in large measure to the scarcity of guns, which were difficult and expensive to produce, and the considerable difficulty involved in maintaining in working condition those that existed.

Well, that’s not going to do a lot for their credibility on this issue, given that even the National Endowment for the Humanities and Garry Wills have written off Bellesiles’ work . Next up: Joe Ellis on his Vietnam combat experiences!