A new study suggests Florida’s controversial Stand Your Ground law can be linked to a spike in gun-related deaths.

According to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), the self defense law led to a 24 percent increase in homicides and a 31.6 percent increase in firearm-related deaths between 2005-2014.

ABC News reports data acquired from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that after the law was passed in Florida, the average number of homicides per month increased as well. The average number of homicides per month skyrocketed from 82 a month in 1999, to 99 homicides a month between October 2005 to 2014.

Nearly two dozen states have adopted Stand Your Ground legislation since 2005.

If you remember, Florida’s Stand Your Ground Law came under intense scrutiny after the shooting death of Trayvon Martin and during the George Zimmerman trial.

Critics of the controversial legislation consider it the “shoot first law,” as it allows an individual who feels threatened during a confrontation to “meet force with force.”

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