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Susan Browne of Albuquerque praises Bailey, her assistance dog, after listening to speakers during Freedom Day in the Capitol Rotunda. The Wednesday event drew members of the disability community from around the state to lobby lawmakers about funding for services and other issues of importance. The state Senate on Wednesday passed a bill allowing the medical use of marijuana.

Jeff Geissler/Associated Press

Lt. Gov. Diane Denish talks during a news conference while state Sen. Bernadette Sanchez, an Albuquerque Democrat, listens at the Capitol in Santa Fe. They spoke Wednesday in support of legislation that would limit interest charges on certain consumer loans, also called payday loans.

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SANTA FE — Animal-rights advocates have overcome a major hurdle, convincing the full Senate to approve a ban on cockfighting in New Mexico.

Chances look good for the ban in the House. And Gov. Bill Richardson has said he'll sign the measure.

However, the debate, which took five hours on the Senate floor Wednesday night, is far from over.

The bill's approval on a 31-11 vote has left opponents angry, cockfighters considering legal action and accusations that Richardson has broken a promise that he wouldn't support a ban.

"Politically, it's over with," said Ronnie Barron, president of the New Mexico Game Breeders Association.

"But we'll file lawsuits. We've got a lot of money to do it," he said.

Barron, who said he raised campaign contributions for Richardson after his pledge to support cockfighting, called the governor a "lying dictator."

"He came down there to Eunice, a little-bitty town. . . . He stood up in the cafe. Some of the rooster fighters asked him if he would outlaw cockfighting, and he specifically said no, and I've got the proof," Barron said.

The proof, he said, is a group of witnesses who heard the conversation, which Barron said took place two years ago.

Two calls to Richardson's office Wednesday night seeking comment were not returned. A second-term Democrat, Richardson is vying for his party's presidential nomination.

Before the bill can get to Richardson's desk, however, it must clear the House.

While the House's 70 members will have their say on the measure, in many ways, the bill's fate is really up to one person: House Speaker Ben Lujan, who decides how many House committees should consider a bill before it reaches the floor.

Shortly after the Senate's approval, Lujan said he hadn't decided where he'll send the measure.

"I need to look at the bill," he said.

Lujan, a Democrat from Namb‚, said he "most likely" would support the ban, but wants to read over the amendments made by the Senate.

The most significant Senate amendments would mean that cockfighting would be a petty misdemeanor on the first offense, not a fourth-degree felony as the original bill called for. It would be a fourth-degree felony on a third or subsequent offense, if the bill becomes law.

Lujan's likely support is a good sign for Senate Majority Whip Mary Jane Garcia, a Do¤a Ana Democrat who is sponsoring the ban and who was able to get it passed by the Senate for what she said was the first time in state history.

The number of committee assignments a bill often is a sign of whether a measure has a good shot at becoming law.

One or two assignments to committees known to be friendly to the measure can make a bill's chances generally look good. Three or more committee assignments, or an assignment to a committee run by opponents of a measure, can mean the bill might not be bounding along anytime soon.

So, with a partial victory in hand, Garcia is waiting to see the path for her bill. The committee assignments are likely to be made today on the House floor.

"I'm hoping I get two referrals," Garcia said.

The bill in the past has stopped at the House Agriculture and Water Resources Committee. Lawmakers since 1981 have tried to ban the sport, legal only in New Mexico and Louisiana.

Rep. Andy Nu¤ez, the chairman of that committee, said he supports the ban.

Nu¤ez, a Democrat from Hatch, said his panel two years ago narrowly allowed the bill to move out of committee. He's not sure what the chances are this year in the committee of four Democrats and three Republicans.

"I would think if it gets out, it's going to be pretty slim," he said.

"But I'd like to lay it to rest once and for all, and the only way to do that is to pass it and get it out."

Nu¤ez said the Legislature has to deal with other issues besides cockfighting.

"We've got a lot of other important things to do, in my estimation. The Senate has been there since four hours - do you know how many House bills we could have passed in four hours?"

Whatever the assignments are, Garcia is optimistic. The House in the past has approved the ban. And earlier this month, Garcia got her bill out of the Senate Conservation Committee, a first in the 18 years since she first pushed for the bill.

"I feel very confident at this point; everybody is ready to do it."