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Florida's Stand Your Ground law led to a "abrupt and sustained" increase in homicides, according to a study published by the American Medical Association.

Since the law's passage, gun-related homicides have increased nearly 32 percent from when the law passed in 2005 and 2014.

"These increases appear to have occurred despite a general decline in homicide in the United States since the early 1990s," according to the study authored by two professors at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom and one from the University of Pennsylvania.

Florida was the first state to enact the law and 22 other states have followed suit.

The study, "Evaluating the Impact of Florida's 'Stand Your Ground' Self-defense Law on Homicide and Suicide by Firearm" found that the state's homicide rate was higher compared to states such as New York, New Jersey, Ohio and Virginia that do no have Stand Your Ground Laws.

The law, which says a person has "no duty to retreat" when he or she believes that force is necessary to prevent harm to themselves or others, gained notoriety after neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman was acquitted in the killing of unarmed teen Trayvon Martin in Sanford in 2012. Zimmerman claimed self-defense.

Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings who is also the president of the Florida Sheriff's Association, that supported the law said the study falls short of "objective reason."

"The Florida Sheriffs Association ... believes that the reasons why individuals commit homicides are a complex matter which cannot be attributed to a single factor," he said in a statement. "As such, the report should be narrowly interpreted and falls short of objective reason."

Gary Kleck, a criminal justice professor at Florida State University and expert on use of force, called the study arbitrary because there can be many other reasons for the rise in homicides.

"It's very weak methodology," he said.

dharris@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5471

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