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SALT LAKE CITY — The U.S. Court of Appeals has issued a temporary stay on a ban for one Utah gun activist who is attempting to block the new rule that outlaws a gun accessory known as a bump stock in the U.S. starting next Tuesday.

Clark Aposhian, chairman of the Utah Shooting Sports Council, argues in a lawsuit that the Department of Justice and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives violated the Constitution in prohibiting the device.

"This is obviously about bump stocks but I think it speaks to something much bigger," Aposhian said previously. "This is about government overreach. This is about administration overreach."

During the temporary stay, Aposhian is the only person who will be able to legally own a bump stock.

The court granted the temporary stay on Thursday "for the purpose of giving the court adequate time to properly consider the motion," according to court documents.

U.S. District Judge Jill Parrish had recently denied Clark Aposhian's request for a preliminary injunction, concluding he isn't likely to win the lawsuit he filed against the government on its merits.

Aposhian appealed the ruling to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, seeking an injunction pending the appeal.

"The court’s decision to stay the bump stock rule is an important recognition of the high stakes in this case. While the order is limited, the court recognizes that Mr. Aposhian has raised a substantial basis to question the rule’s validity," the New Civil Liberties Alliance, which filed the motion on Aposhian's behalf, said in a statement Thursday.

The Trump administration in late December adopted a new federal rule that redefined the devices as "machine guns," therefore banning them under existing law. The rule directs owners to destroy or surrender their bump stocks to the ATF before it takes effect.

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