AUSTRALIA'S GUN CONTROL BATTLE Australian Prime Minister John Howard vowed Sunday to introduce tough gun laws after the second shooting spree in a month despite big anti-gun control rallies and threats of a political campaign by gun owners. "I understand how strongly some people feel about this issue and I've always acknowledged there are a lot of law-abiding people who are going to be affected by these new laws," Howard told reporters in Sydney. "I also know that the great majority of the Australian people support the stand that I have taken...and whilst I understand the views of people who dissent, the government's position will not alter." Howard said. Some 60,000 gun owners staged one of the country's biggest protests since the Vietnam War Saturday, just hours after a gunman armed with a pump-action shotgun wounded five people near the tropical city of Darwin, capital of the Northern Territory. A rally of some 7,000 gun owners in Adelaide Sunday warned of a ballot backlash against the tough new gun laws. Howard plans to ban automatic and semi-automatic weapons, in the wake of the Port Arthur massacre. Tasmania has banned automatic and semi-automatic weapons. Australia's most populous state, New South Wales, has already banned the sale of automatic and semi-automatic weapons and his introduced new legislation to return gun control to the national government. Howard said Australian politicians were at a crossroads and had the opportunity to stop the country adopting the gun culture of the United States. Reuters June 2, 1996