WASHINGTON - The US Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a request by gun rights activists to put on hold the Trump administration's ban on "bump stock" attachments that allow semi-automatic weapons to be fired rapidly, a rare recent instance of gun control at the federal level.

The court in a brief order refused to grant a temporary stay sought by plaintiffs including the group Gun Owners of America in a lawsuit filed in Michigan challenging the ban while litigation continues. The policy took effect on Tuesday on the same day that Chief Justice John Roberts rejected a similar bid to delay implementation in a separate case in Washington.

An appeals court previously exempted specific people and groups involved in the Washington case from the ban while that case continues.

Reuters