A preliminary injunction blocking the state from requiring background checks before purchasing ammunition won’t take effect after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay Friday night.

The court granted a request from the office of state Attorney General Xavier Becerra seeking to halt implementation of a ruling Thursday by U.S. District Court Judge Roger Benitez, which said the state law requiring ammunition purchasers to pass a background check unconstitutionally infringed on the Second Amendment rights of gun owners.

On Friday afternoon, Benitez declined a request from the state to stay imposition of the injunction. State lawyers had said it was needed in part to prevent those who are prohibited from purchasing ammunition, such as felons convicted of violent crimes, from buying ammunition.

After Benitez rejected the stay request, the state filed an appeal immediately in the 9th Circuit. Just before 10 p.m. the court granted the request. That means the law requiring background checks for ammunition buyers that has been in force for about a year is back in effect.

