Sunday, February 11, 2007
Cockfighting ban passes the Senate 31-11!!!!!
Sorry for the delayed post here - APV was having technical issues this week with Blogger.
History was made for New Mexico's roosters on Wed. February 7th when, after 5 1/2 hrs of debate, the Senate voted 31-11 to support a statewide ban on cockfighting.
During the long debate, seven amendments to weaken the bill were introduced by Senators Phil Griego and Rod Adair, two of which passed. One amendment, introduced by Senator Phil Griego, lessened the penalties for participating in a cockfight down to a petty misdemeanor on the first offense, a misdemeanor on the second offense and a 4th degree felony on the third and subsequent offenses. The other amendment removed all penalties for attending and watching a cockfight.
This bill now moves on to the House where it will be heard before the Agriculture and Water Resources Committee and the Judiciary Committee and then it is on to the House floor! If you haven't called the members of these committees yet to support SB10, please do so today! Your local Representative (they are not counting those calling from out-of-state or out-of-district) can be found at: http://legis.state.nm.us/lcs/legislatorsearch.asp
APV and its members send our heartfelt thanks to the Senators who stood up and spoke against the amendments that were introduced: Senator Cisco McSorely, Senator Mary Jane Garcia, Senator Michael Sanchez, Senator John Arthur Smith, Senator Leonard Lee Rawson and Senator John Grubesic.
Stay tuned for more updates and committee scheduling in the House!
