( CNN ) -- A Florida task force on Friday recommended that the state 's controversial `` stand your ground '' law not be overturned . The body , appointed by Florida Gov . Rick Scott , found that the `` majority of Floridians favor an expansive right to self-defense . '' The law states that a person is permitted to use force in self-defense without first having to retreat from a potentially dangerous situation . `` All persons who are conducting themselves in a lawful manner have a fundamental right to stand their ground and defend themselves from attack with proportionate force in every place they have a lawful right to be , '' the 44-page report said . Since its enactment in Florida in 2006 , the law has been frequently cited in cases ranging from an incident in which a man sprayed a vehicle carrying a known gang member with 14 bullets to the 2011 case of a man who was cleared under `` stand your ground '' after stabbing a man in the head with an ice pick during a road rage incident . The number of justifiable homicides reported in the state has skyrocketed since the law went into effect . In the five years before the law 's approval , Florida averaged 12 justifiable homicides a year , according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement . In the six years since , the average is 33 . Scott formed the task force on March 22 in response to the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin , an unarmed teenager . Martin was killed by George Zimmerman , a neighborhood watch volunteer in Sanford , Florida , after a confrontation . The incident sparked national outcry , prompted a Justice Department investigation and raised questions about the controversial law .
The body found that the `` majority of Floridians favor an expansive right to self-defense '' The law says a person can use force in self-defense without first having to retreat . The task force was formed on March 22 in response to the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin . Justifiable homicides reported in Florida have risen since the law went into effect .