WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- The Senate on Wednesday narrowly rejected a controversial measure to allow people to carry concealed weapons from state to state . A Miami , Florida , gun store offers concealed weapons training . The measure would have required each of the 48 states that currently allow concealed firearms to honor permits issued in other states . The vote was 58-39 in favor . The amendment needed 60 votes to pass . The vote split the Democrats , with 20 supporting the measure and 35 opposing it . Two of the Senate 's 40 Republicans -- Richard Lugar of Indiana and George Voinovich of Ohio -- and both independents , Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut and Bernard Sanders of Vermont , voted against it . Robert Byrd of West Virginia , Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and Barbara Mikulski of Maryland , all Democrats , did not vote . A coalition of mayors that fought the law welcomed its defeat . `` Our bipartisan coalition of Mayors Against Illegal Guns fought this amendment tooth-and-nail , because we recognize that the laws of one state may not be best for another , '' Mayor Thomas M. Menino of Boston , Massachusetts , said in a statement . `` We will continue to work with our members to support common-sense policies and oppose dangerous ones , like the Thune Amendment that was defeated today , '' he said , referring to Sen. John Thune , R-South Dakota , who sponsored the proposal . It was the first significant defeat this year for advocates of gun rights , after gun control advocates faced an unexpected setback in May . Map : See which states allow citizens to carry concealed weapons » . Gun rights advocates attached a measure allowing people to carry guns in national parks to credit card legislation . President Obama signed the package into law . The interstate concealed-weapons proposal was an amendment to a larger defense appropriations bill . Supporters of the measure argued it would help deter criminals ; opponents claimed it would , in effect , force most of the country to conform to regulations in states with the loosest gun-ownership standards . Opponents of the amendment mounted a huge campaign to stop it . Mayors Against Illegal Guns -- which says it represent more than 450 mayors in 40 states -- took out an ad in USA Today opposing the measure . New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg , a campaign co-chairman , opposed the law on a number of grounds , arguing both that it tramples on states ' rights and that guns are dangerous . `` There 's no evidence that if you have a gun , you 're safer , '' he said on CNN 's `` American Morning '' Wednesday . `` Quite the contrary . If you have a gun at home , [ you are ] something like 20 times more likely to have somebody in your house killed . ... `` We have to protect our policemen , protect our citizens . We ca n't have all these guns , and it 's reasonable to have each state make their own laws , '' he said . `` Wyoming should n't be subject to New York state laws , and we 're going in that direction , '' he said . `` What 's right for the people of Wyoming is n't necessarily right for the people of New York and vice versa . '' Sen. John Barrasso , a Wyoming Republican who was a co-sponsor of the amendment , had argued that gun licenses should apply across state lines , like driver 's licenses . `` People travel , '' he said on `` American Morning . '' `` We have truck drivers on our roads , people traveling for vacation in their vehicles , and if you have a license ... you should be able to use that license in other states . It should apply like a driver 's license , '' he said . He argued that concealed weapons deter crime . `` Carrying a concealed weapon is a sign of self-defense , self-protection , and I think it lowers crime , '' he said . And he said people carrying guns would still have to obey laws wherever they are . `` The law of the state where that person happens to be at the time are the laws that apply in terms of if you 're allowed to carry a gun into a bar or restaurant . ... State rights continue to apply there . '' This is the third time the Senate has considered gun rights this year . In addition to the national parks measure , Senate gun-rights advocates in the spring attached a measure loosening the District of Columbia 's tight gun control laws to a bill giving full voting rights to Washington 's representative in Congress . That amendment was approved 62-36 . House Democratic leaders , unwilling to loosen the restrictions on gun ownership in the District of Columbia , have let the bill languish . CNN 's Alan Silverleib and Evan Glass in Washington contributed to this report .
Senate turns down proposal to make permits valid despite differing laws . Foes said it would force states to honor laws in more gun-permissive states . Comment: