Beautiful tribute/dedication! Thoughts and prayers are not enough.

Vividly awesome creation Rod. Cool rain fx and Candlelight my friend. Yes our world is in shambles. So many sick Farkers in our country.

What do these cowards wake up dome morning and decide he/they want to go out and kill?

Smoke a joint and be mellow.??

Bless the families and friends who were effected by this Mass/Mad tragedy both El Paso and in Dayton.

Beautiful and sad... I don't understand why the people with the authority to limit the carnage can't be bothered to do it.

What I don't understand is how these F##ing loonies end up with enough firepower to equip a platoon of Marines. When I bought a little semi-auto .22 over 20 years ago, I had to get all kinds of letters of recommendation on BUSINESS letterhead, pass all kinds of background checks, and have a 2-week waiting period before I could even pick the damn thing up. I guess I was following the rules. Silly me.

I used to be (note I said 'USED' to be) an NRA member - before they became so militant. I don't believe in stripping 2nd Amendment rights, but i DO believe SOME kind of control needs to be in place to keep weapons out of the hands of these nut cases. It's complicated and not an easy thing to accomplish, but it's time for our so-called "leadership" to stop acting like a bunch of spolied-rotten 4-year-olds, get on the stick, and start doing their jobs. 'Nuff said.

Excellent work, my friend ! ! !

I agree with the above comment......this image is both beautiful and sad. It seems like the whole world has gone crazy, and things just keep getting worse every day, and there's nothing anybody can do about it........only God can make things change......people should start praying and praying and praying......

very symbolic art Rod and superbly done

certainly fully automatic weapons have no place in the hands of john q public. a stupid article online(wait 99% are stupid) was like claiming the idiot in Ohio killed 9 people, BUT it took only 30 seconds to end his existence . tell that to the families of the murdered people

last week a rat upstaged a reporter and the rat got much higher ratings and may get it's own TV show

Jeeze.... One can only hope the rat's name was Remy, and he was wearing a little chef's hat...

New Zealand basically showed how it's done, following the events of 15 March. And not just with firearms, but also with the extremist propaganda behind the perpetrators.

Ah, but we can't do that here.... God forbid we violate anyone's First Amendment rights to spread hatred and encourage terrorist acts..... sigh....

Senseless and tragic violence with no easy solution.

Wonderful tribute, Rod! Actually I have my doubts, that this situation can be controlled as quick as it should. Even if buying fire arms will ever be restricted in the near future, I think there are too many still around and those sick weirdos can get a grip on them ( if not on their own, so on their Fathers, Brothers, cousins or who ever). But sure the U.S. has a very sloppy law compared to other countries, concerning the right of owning fire arms ( IMHO). In my country they have already very restrictive laws, and reccently they made it even stricter, because of the danger of terrorism (as if the real terrorists care for that and choose the legal way to aquire a fire arm)!

I keep those families and your country in my prayers, hopefully that these shootings may never happen again…

Very nice!

Just as well I don't have a gun, because I'd be too inclined to use it! That is why I'm relieved that guns are comparatively the exception to the rule in UK. Thing is, how can you decide who is trustworthy with a firearm and who is not? Even a disciplined Soldier can stray in the right circumstances. I'm just relieved that the shooter was shot before he claimed any more victims!

good one

The image world shakes when you expand your artistic horizons, Rod.

I look out across the world. Venezuela, North Korea, Zimbabwe, China, Hong Kong, Cambodia. I can go on. Freedom, as with everything else in life, has a price. The price we pay for our freedom is the 2nd Amendment which the Founding Fathers themselves bequeathed us. We are free because our forebears respected it. We in turn must insure our descendants remain equally free and never have to face tyranny unarmed.

In the meantime, we cannot forget none of us are guaranteed even the next thirty minutes of existence. Let us live life to the fullest and NEVER fear that it will kill us. One day it will.

Well done, Rod

Superb lighting, wonderful tribute !

It's wonderfully done!

Beauty

Fantastic render!

I am sorry for those lost and sorry for those who lost loved ones. A lovely tribute.

This is a lovely and touching tribute. The rain is the perfect solemn and moody touch.

My heart is hurting for all of those involved this weekend and in the past. Everyone who can make a difference (US government, I'm looking at you) need to stop pointing fingers and blaming everyone else and DO something. "Thoughts and prayers" is not enough.

Beautiful image, my friend.

Wonderful scene and fine thoughts, Rod...but the time is up for thoughts and prayers...words and thoughts are cheap, we need ACTION...if your representative is one of those do nothing mongrels, vote them out! If you believe the NRA/gun manufacturer's/Repubbie lie that "they" are after your guns, grow up already...the right to bear arms is a right, but it is not an absolute right...and remember I have the right to walk down the street, go to the movies, eat at a restaurant, etc. without the fear of being shot/killed by some trigger happy bigot.

Exactly. And exactly why I am no longer a member, and no longer support them.

It's the same senseless cycle. A massacre happens, and those in power call for "thoughts and prayers" (and I guess some others in power call for gun control), and then we move on. And then a new massacre.

(And in the meantime, as BucyJoe mentioned in another post, Chicago goes through this mess every damn weekend.)

Japan and England has their [CENSORED] together about gun control, why can't America? Why can't we get ahead of this before another mass shooting?!

Excellent!

Lovely tribute.
Horrid situation!

Thanks a lot, Rod. Sad thing is the country is not the same as when freedom to have fire arms was written into the Constitution. Each had his gun and had to rely on it facing wild animals (and that includes certain humans). There was no police back then. There was a 2 page, well balanced series of articles and editorials in the Swedish news papers about the massacres (good job). The only positive thing is one of these monsters will not repeat this catastrophe. Glad to see you acted on your NRA membership.

I just listened to Melani sing the song you referenced above. It has such a eerie beginning, soul wrenching mind blowing feel to it. Sent shivers up and down my spine. Like a million billion souls were screaming bloody murder and demanding action. Your image speaks volumes to these tragedies as well! You have captured the essence of this all too frequent moment and it has evoked quite a few responses, striking nerves in all of us as it should. As has been noted, the all too impulsive knee jerk reaction of gun supporters to grab the crutch of the second amendment is extremely all too worn out. As I have listened to so many comments on news and other videos, the 2nd amendment is a right to bear arms to protect YOUR life and the lives of those around you but not a license to go out and kill your fellow man on a senseless rampage. If Mitch McConnell had an honest bone in his body, he would get off his dead ass and hustle back down to Washington and start pushing those bills through the senate that he has been sitting on with his ugly fat ass since they were passed in the House of Representatives back in February. I pray that he will develop a conscience and do the right thing! Amen!

Amen, indeed. If our so called "leaders" would put half the effort into some kind of reasonable control as they do to running their daily freak show, maybe something would happen in a positive way. Many, many good points have been brought up here. As Goldie mentioned, the right to bear arms is not an absolute right, and does not outweigh hers or yours, or my right to walk down the street, watch a movie, or shop at a Walmart without fear of being shot by some lunatic with an AK47 or AR15. There are no simple answers, but it's way past time to sit down and start doing some honest work on the problem.

Yeah, That song by Melanie gives me goose-bumps every time I hear it. I'm digitizing a bunch of old LPs from back in the day, and I have several of her albums. Some of her songs I don't care for all that much, but I love 'Candles In The Rain,' and 'Leftover Wine' as well.

Excellent