SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – A federal judge has halted sales of high-capacity ammunition magazines in California.It gives state officials a chance to appeal his order last week that allowed their sale for the first time in nearly 20 years.

U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez on Friday barred further sales until the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals considers whether to reinstate the state’s ban on magazines holding more than 10 bullets.

The judge says those who bought the extended magazines since his court order last week may keep them without fear of being prosecuted.

An attorney for the National Rifle Association and the California Rifle & Pistol Association estimates that hundreds of thousands of gun owners may have bought the magazines since Benitez threw out the state’s ban last week as infringing on the right to bear arms.