By Kevin Gray

MIAMI BEACH, Florida (Reuters) - A leading group of black lawyers on Monday urged Florida's governor to call a special legislative session to repeal the state's "Stand Your Ground" law after the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the fatal shooting of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin.

"Stand Your Ground must fall," said John Page, the president of the National Bar Association, one of the oldest organizations of African-American lawyers, during the group's annual meeting in Miami Beach, Florida.

Civil rights groups have stepped up calls for Governor Rick Scott to ask state lawmakers to overhaul the law. Dozens of students this month staged a sit-in in Tallahassee, the state's capital, also urging him to repeal it.

But Scott has repeatedly said he supports Stand Your Ground and has no plans to call a special session. Recent polls show a majority of Floridians also back the law, which was first passed in 2005 with overwhelming support from Republicans and Democrats alike.

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A woman holds up a sign during a demonstration in reaction to the acquittal of neighborhood watch vo …

"I'm asking Governor Scott - convene a session," Page said. "We're asking you to act."

Dennis Baxley, a Florida state representative who sponsored the law, has also said he sees no need to overhaul it. He has argued the law has helped to lower crime rates in Florida.

Under Stand Your Ground, people fearing for their lives can use deadly force without having to retreat from a confrontation, even when it is possible.

Earlier this month, a jury acquitted Zimmerman, a former neighborhood watch volunteer, of second-degree murder and manslaughter in the killing of Martin, a black 17 year old.

Critics contend that Zimmerman racially profiled Martin when he followed him in a gated community in Sanford, Florida. Zimmerman said he acted in self-defense and shot Martin after the teenager punched him and smashed his head into a concrete sidewalk.

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Sybrina Fulton (L) mother of Trayvon Martin, speaks with her attorney Benjamin Crump (R) at a news c …

While Zimmerman did not invoke Stand Your Ground in his defense, one member of the jury has said there was a reference to the law in the jury instructions.

A second member of the jury has called for changes to Florida's self-defense law, which she said gave jurors no option but to acquit.

Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton, appeared alongside Page on Monday. She said she believed the Stand Your Ground law contributed to Zimmerman's not guilty verdict.

"The thing about this law is I just think it assisted the person who killed my son to get away with murder," Fulton said. "We have to change these laws so that this doesn't happen to somebody else's child."

(Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

SOMERSET, Mass. (AP) -- Dozens of climate activists were arrested Sunday at a rally protesting a coal-fired power plant in Somerset.

Forty-four protesters demanding cleaner, alternative fuel sources were arrested at the Brayton Point Power Station and charged with trespassing.

Up to 400 activists from across New England and the Northeast gathered at the power plant site. The protest was organized by 350.org Massachusetts.

Bruce Henderson, of Bennington, Vt., said he's very concerned about the use of fossil fuels and the negative impact he says they're having on the environment. The protest was the third he's attended.

"I just couldn't stay home anymore," Henderson said.

A march was led by 44 protesters wearing red shirts identifying them as willing to risk arrest by carrying models of windmills and solar panels as they marched onto the power plant's property.

Organizers of the event, which was part of national actions by 350.org, worked with police in planning the protest. No injuries were reported.

Dominion, the owner of Brayton Point, is selling the plant to a private equity firm as it focuses on businesses in other states with regulated energy markets.

The use of coal has been declining in New England. In 2000, coal was the third-most-used fuel for electricity in the region, accounting for 18 percent of New England's power. As of last year, it produced 6 percent of regional power, according to grid operator ISO New England.

Several factors have cut its use: the expense of upgrading older plants, regional energy preferences and pressure from anti-pollution activists such as 350.org, But the biggest influence is the low price of natural gas.

Bus Swept Away in Arizona Flash Flood (ABC News)

A bus transporting a group of tourists back to Nevada from the Grand Canyon was swept up in a flash flood, and carried 300 yards down a wash before coming to rest on its side Sunday, officials said.

Despite the frightening experience, none of the 33 people on board the tour bus were hurt and they managed to get to dry land after it came to a stop, Northern Arizona Consolidated Fire District No. 1 officials said.

"The occupants were extremely lucky to have survived the ordeal and were very fortunate to have no fatalities or injuries due to the remote location of the incident," Fire Chief Patrick Moore said.

The tour bus was driving west on Pierce Ferry Road at approximately 1:50 p.m., returning from the Grand Canyon Skywalk, when the driver attempted to cross a wash that was flowing due to recent heavy rainstorms in the area.

"What we had was a monsoon type flash flood across a major thoroughfare that runs out to a tourist location," Kingman fire captain Robert Cole said.

The bus was lifted in the rising flood waters and started to flat downstream, fire officials said.

As the bus was being carried away, calls were made to emergency personnel, but rescue crews were delayed getting there because of the remote location and because other washes were also flowing, officials said.

By the time the fire department got there, everyone on the bus had been able to climb out through the windows and get safely to dry land.

The area where the bus accident occurred received 0.75 inches of rain in about an hour this afternoon, Chris Stumpf, a National Weather Service forecaster in Las Vegas, told The Associated Press.

The bus should not have been traveling in that area at the time, because there was a flash flood warning in effect, Stumpf said.

"It was a really strong storm dumping quite a bit of rain ... and it caused flash flooding," Stumpf said. "They were driving on a portion of the road where they shouldn't have tried to drive across. They should not have been driving through there."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.