Editing Hunter S. Thompson (section)

===Political beliefs===
Thompson was a [[firearm]]s and [[explosives]] enthusiast (in his writing and in life) and owned a large collection of handguns, rifles, shotguns, and various [[automatic firearm|automatic]] and [[semi-automatic firearm|semiautomatic]] weapons, along with numerous forms of [[Lachrymatory agent|gaseous crowd-control]] and many homemade devices.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}} He was a proponent of the [[Second Amendment to the United States Constitution|right to bear arms]] and [[Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution|privacy rights]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Glassie |first=John |date=February 3, 2003 |title=Hunter S. Thompson |work=Salon |url=http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2003/02/03/thompson/index.html?pn=2 |url-status=dead |access-date=August 3, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607032419/http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2003/02/03/thompson/index.html?pn=2 |archive-date=June 7, 2011}}</ref> A member of the [[National Rifle Association of America]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Susman |first=Tina |date=February 22, 2005 |title=Writer's suicide shocks friends |url=http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-ushunt224153856feb22,0,4715271.story?coll=ny-nationalnews-headlines |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071127024140/http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-ushunt224153856feb22%2C0%2C4715271.story?coll=ny-nationalnews-headlines |archive-date=November 27, 2007 |access-date=August 3, 2012 |publisher=Newsday.com}}</ref> Thompson was also co-creator of the Fourth Amendment Foundation, an organization to assist victims in defending themselves against unwarranted [[search and seizure]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Higgins |first=Matt |date=September 2, 2003 |title=The Gonzo King |url=http://hightimes.com/entertainment/mhiggins/970 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120929131805/http://hightimes.com/entertainment/mhiggins/970 |archive-date=September 29, 2012 |access-date=August 3, 2012 |publisher=High Times}}</ref>

Part of his work with the Fourth Amendment Foundation centered around support of [[Lisl Auman]], a [[Colorado]] woman who was sentenced for [[Life imprisonment|life]] in 1997 under [[felony murder]] charges for the death of police officer Bruce VanderJagt, despite contradictory statements and dubious evidence.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McMaken |first=Ryan |title=Hunter S. Thompson's Last Stand |url=http://archive.lewrockwell.com/mcmaken/mcmaken134.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140313204113/http://archive.lewrockwell.com/mcmaken/mcmaken134.html |archive-date=March 13, 2014 |access-date=August 3, 2012}}</ref> Thompson organized rallies, provided legal support, and co-wrote an article in the June 2004 issue of ''[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'' outlining the case. The [[Colorado Supreme Court]] eventually overturned Auman's sentence in March 2005, shortly after Thompson's death, and Auman is now free. Auman's supporters claim Thompson's support and publicity resulted in the successful appeal.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Moseley |first=Matt |date=April 26, 2006 |title=Lisl Released from Tooley Hall |url=http://www.lisl.com/caseupdate.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060506163933/http://www.lisl.com/caseupdate.htm |archive-date=May 6, 2006 |access-date=March 14, 2017 |website=lisl.com}}</ref>

Thompson was also an ardent supporter of [[drug legalization]] and became known for his detailed accounts of his own [[Recreational drug use|drug use]]. He was an early supporter of the [[National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws]] and served on the group's advisory board for over 30 years, until his death.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Aspen Legal Seminar |url=http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6823 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111012115131/http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6823 |archive-date=October 12, 2011 |access-date=August 3, 2012}}</ref> He told an interviewer in 1997 that drugs should be legalized "[a]cross the board. It might be a little rough on some people for a while, but I think it's the only way to deal with drugs. Look at [[Prohibition in the United States|Prohibition]]; all it did was make a lot of criminals rich."<ref name="fargone" />

In a 1965 letter to his friend Paul Semonin, Thompson explained an affection for the [[Industrial Workers of the World]], "I have in recent months come to have a certain feeling for [[Joe Hill (activist)|Joe Hill]] and the Wobbly crowd who, if nothing else, had the right idea. But not the right mechanics. I believe the IWW was probably the last human concept in American politics."<ref>Hunter S. Thompson ''The Proud Highway: 1955–67, Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman'', p. 509.</ref> In another letter to Semonin, Thompson wrote that he agreed with [[Karl Marx]], and compared him to [[Thomas Jefferson]].<ref>Hunter S. Thompson ''The Proud Highway'', p. 493.</ref> In a letter to [[William Kennedy (author)|William Kennedy]], Thompson confided that he was "coming to view the [[free enterprise]] system as the single greatest evil in the history of human savagery."<ref>Hunter S. Thompson ''The Proud Highway'', p. 456.</ref> In the documentary ''[[Breakfast with Hunter]]'', Thompson is seen in several scenes wearing different [[Che Guevara]] T-shirts. Additionally, actor and friend [[Benicio del Toro]] has stated that Thompson kept a "big" [[Guerrillero Heroico|picture of Che]] in his kitchen.<ref>[https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/gonzo-the-life-and-work-of-dr-hunter-s-thompson Hunter S. Thompson: The Movie] by Alex Gibney, ''The Sunday Times'', December 14, 2008</ref> Thompson wrote on behalf of African-American rights and the [[civil rights movement]].<ref>Hunter S. Thompson, ''The Great Shark Hunt'' (London, 1980), pp.&nbsp;43–51.</ref> He strongly criticized the dominance in American society of what he called "white power structures".<ref>Hunter S. Thompson, ''The Great Shark Hunt'', (1980), pp.&nbsp;44–50.</ref>

After the [[September 11 attacks]], Thompson voiced skepticism regarding the [[9/11 Commission Report|official story on who was responsible for the attacks]]. He speculated to several interviewers that it had been [[False flag|conducted by]] [[9/11 conspiracy theories|the U.S. government or with the government's assistance]], though readily admitting he had no way to prove his theory.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bulger |first=Adam |date=March 9, 2004 |title=The Hunter S. Thompson Interview |url=http://www.freezerbox.com/archive/article.php?id=287 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125014310/http://www.freezerbox.com/archive/article.php?id=287 |archive-date=January 25, 2021 |access-date=August 3, 2012 |publisher=FreezerBox}}</ref>

In 2004, Thompson wrote: "[Richard] Nixon was a professional politician, and I despised everything he stood for—but if he were running for president this year against the evil [[George W. Bush|Bush]]–[[Dick Cheney|Cheney]] gang, I would happily vote for him."<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Thompson |first=Hunter S. |date=October 24, 2004 |title=Fear and Loathing, Campaign 2004 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/6562575/fear_and_loathing_campaign_2004 |url-status=dead |magazine=Rolling Stone |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080709073911/http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/6562575/fear_and_loathing_campaign_2004 |archive-date=July 9, 2008 |access-date=August 3, 2012}}</ref>