It was a rare good day for Americans who are sick of gun violence and favor sane laws to regulate firearms.

In recent years, the National Rifle Association and its legion of supporters have stampeded Congress into passing Wild West-type legislation such as allowing visitors to carry loaded guns in national parks and wildlife refuges. Also, the ban on assault weapons was allowed to lapse.

The gun lobby appeared unstoppable.

But on Wednesday, the Senate narrowly defeated an amendment to allow firearms owners to carry their concealed weapons across state lines. All but two states — Illinois and Wisconsin — issue permits to carry concealed weapons. But they have different standards.

The legislation would have given the green light to carrying a concealed weapon from a state with less stringent standards to a state with tougher requirements. That would have been wrong. It would have undermined states wanting strict concealed-carry provisions. The amendment was opposed by police chiefs, who said, logically, that it would lead to greater gun violence.

A majority of senators still did the gun lobby's bidding. But the amendment needed 60 votes to pass and got only 58.

Connecticut's Democratic Sen. Christopher J. Dodd and Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, elected as an independent, voted the right way.

We hope it's a sign of gun control votes to come.