Vermont Gov. Phil Scott (R) signed a set of new gun restrictions into law on Wednesday, fulfilling what hes called his moral and legal obligation and responsibility to provide for the safety of our citizens.

The legislative package raises the minimum age for purchasing a firearm to 21, enhances background check requirements for private gun sales, and bans high-capacity magazines and bump stocks. Other measures expand law enforcements ability to confiscate guns from individuals labeled an extreme risk and people arrested for domestic assault.

At a signing ceremony in front of supporters and critics at the state capitol in Montpelier, Scott defended the new laws as an appropriate response to mass gun violence over the past year in places like Parkland, Florida , and Las Vegas .

Today we choose action over inaction, doing something over doing nothing, knowing there will always be more work to do, but today we chose to try, Scott said. This is not the time to do whats easy, its time to do whats right.

Gun advocates booed the governor and let out screams of coward and traitor.

The modest overhaul of the states gun laws marks a significant change for Vermont, a blue state with a large rural population and a rich tradition of hunting and outdoor activity. Although lawmakers have debated gun control in the past, such measures historically havent received much support.

Scott himself had previously toed the pro-gun line and carried an endorsement from Gun Owners of Vermont ahead of his 2016 gubernatorial campaign. In the hours after the Parkland shooting in February, he signaled that he wasnt interested in revisiting Vermonts gun laws, which are among the loosest in the nation. But he appeared to change course just a day later, following the Feb. 15 arrest of a Vermont teenager who had allegedly planned a similar shooting at a high school in Fair Haven, Vermont.

The suspect in that case, an 18-year-old, was legally able to purchase a shotgun, but would not be allowed to do so under the new state law.

As governor, I have a responsibility to provide for the safety of our citizens, especially our kids, Scott said at a February news conference announcing hed be open to looking at gun policy reform.

He echoed that sentiment in a March statement following the state legislatures passage of the new gun restrictions, saying recent mass shootings had proven that no state is immune to the risk of extreme violence.

Beginning Wednesday, Vermonters below the age of 21 will no longer be allowed to purchase firearms unless they can show they have completed a hunter safety course. The previous age restriction for long guns, including rifles like the AR-15, was 18 years old.

The new limits on the sale of high-capacity ammunition magazines will also go into effect immediately. The restrictions apply to rifle magazines that hold more than 10 rounds or pistol magazines that hold more than 15 rounds. Dealers in the state have until Oct. 1 to sell any magazines they already have in stock.

People with high-capacity magazines purchased before the laws implementation are exempt from the legislation. Gun stores in Vermont reported an uptick in magazine sales ahead of Wednesdays bill signing. At a rally earlier this month, firearms advocates handed out 1,200 free 30-round rifle magazines .