The Maine Attorney General’s Office is appealing a federal judge’s decision to temporarily block the state’s 72-hour waiting period to buy firearms.

U.S. District Judge Lance Walker granted a request from gun rights groups to suspend a three-day waiting period Thursday.

Maine has now filed to have the waiting period reinstated with the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston while the appeals court considers the underlying case.

A group of gun owners and gun-related businesses filed a lawsuit in November seeking to overturn the state law, which was enacted after the Lewiston mass shooting.

The motion filed by the state attorney general’s office Monday defends the waiting period. “The undisputed evidence in the record is that waiting periods save lives by meaningfully reducing both suicides and homicides,” the motion reads.

Last Thursday’s decision by U.S. District Court Judge Lance Walker strongly sided with the plaintiff’s.

In a 17 page  document, the judge said it was likely the lawsuit would be successful based on the merits.

He said the acquisition of firearms is covered by the Second Amendment, disagreeing with the state’s contention that the Second Amendment only covers people who already possess firearms.

Judge Walker also said the 72-hour waiting period’s “cooling off period” is “inconsistent with nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulations.”

In addition, he said the waiting period would cause irreparable harm. “Persons most harmed by the waiting period are likely to be seeking to carry for self-defense in case of confrontation,” Judge Walker said.

The state is arguing to the appeals court in Boston that Walker’s decision contradicts seven orders by courts in other states where similar laws have been targeted by lawsuits.