BOSTON, Massachusetts (WMTW) – A federal appeals court is allowing Maine to enforce its new 72-hour waiting period for most gun purchases, overturning a lower court order that had blocked the law.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled the measure is likely constitutional and can take effect while the case continues.

The law, passed after the 2023 Lewiston mass shooting, requires gun sellers to wait three days before handing over a firearm, with some exceptions.

A group of gun owners and dealers challenged the law and said it violates the Second Amendment by delaying access to firearms. A federal judge agreed and temporarily stopped enforcement.

The appeals court said the waiting period doesn’t block people from owning guns, it just slows down the process.

“In our view, this likely renders the Act a burden on, but not an infringement of, the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms,” the court wrote.

Judges also pointed to evidence lawmakers relied on showing waiting periods can reduce suicides and violence.

Gun rights advocates criticized the decision.

The National Rifle Association called the decision “outrageous” and “an affront both to the Constitution and common sense” and said law-abiding residents should not have to wait to receive firearms they legally purchased.

“We are confident that the Supreme Court will ultimately resolve this issue and restore the rights of gun owners in the Pine Tree State,” John Commerford, executive director of the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action, said in a statement.

The case now returns to the lower court, but the law can be enforced in the meantime, according to the ruling.

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