MARINA DEL REY, CA -- Ayn Rand Institute founder Dr. Leonard Peikoff, along with one of his students Mark da Cunha, presented Lazaro Gonzalez, Elian Gonzalez's great uncle, a petition last Saturday noon affirming that Elian remain in the United States. The petition contained over 4,000 signatures from Americans across the United States. Peikoff addressed a group of 150 mostly non-Cuban Americans Saturday in front of Elian's home in Little Havana.
     His speech, punctuated by cheers and chants, stressed that the issue surrounding Elian is an American one involving the protection of individual rights against overbearing government -- and not, as government officials and media in both Cuba and America have described it, as a "simple" custody battle.
     In a Reuters report on the demonstration, Peikoff was quoted as saying: "If you grasp what totalitarianism is, you would never talk about the rights of the father. In that kind of society, [a father] can only watch his son die. You say [Elian] needs a father -- yes, but; he needs a life first."
     While in Miami, Dr. Peikoff met and congratulated Lazaro Gonzalez for his heroic stand in behalf of Elian. Peikoff also talked to Miami mayor Joe Carollo and then had lunch with Elian's chief litigator, Linda Osberg-Braun. Peikoff said these meetings left him with a deeper understanding of the issues involved and reinforced his view that is would be a disgrace to send Elian back to Castro's Cuba.
     "I regard the deportation of Elian as a slap in the face of the Founding Fathers and their principles," said Peikoff, a 30-year associate and heir of the late novelist/philosopher Ayn Rand. "It is totalitarianism vs. freedom that has to be considered and that is why this is an American issue, not just a Cuban one. This country was founded on the basis of each individual's right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
 
Ayn Rand Institute founder and Ayn Rand heir Leonard Peikoff, a Ph.D. in philosophy and a veteran of hundreds of radio and television interviews, is available for interviews. He is willing to debate this issue with those who advocate sending Elian back to Cuba.