On the eve of a newly approved law by the legislature that addresses metal theft in Mississippi, U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate granted a temporary injunction.

The judge's order is in response to a request from buyers within the metal industry, citing concerns about the tag and hold provision in the law.

As part of the new law, buyers would have to tag or label the metal bought and hold it at least three days before selling it. This is something which one local buyer says would cause a problem.

"I think it would be everybody's biggest concern that there's not enough room to segregate all of the material that they are wanting us to tag and hold," said Ken Mansfield of Southern Scrap of Meridian. "It's going to cause a lot of crowding because you won't have the room to put it."

Mansfield said he would have to start turning people away.

However, officials in law enforcement say the new law is long overdue.

"We're excited about having the information to track somebody down, if in fact they stole precious metals and then sold them," said Lauderdale County Sheriff Billy Sollie.

The lack of information to track down the thieves is what Sollie said has made it difficult for law enforcement in recent years, when the theft of metals such as copper drastically increased.

"We're going to be working closely with the local dealers both inside and outside the city of Meridian, making sure that they understand that we're not out to get them but we do need their help," Sollie said.

The penalty for violating this new law, when it becomes effective, is up to three years in jail and a $5,000 fine.

Wingate's order was in response to a request for an injunction from Metal Management Mississippi Inc. He said he expects to release a decision on Tuesday.

Buyers like Mansfield, who say that they are doing things honestly, still feel that this new law hurts more than it helps.

"We won't have the room," said Mansfield. "Won't any scrap dealer have the room not to segregate all of this material."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.