ATLANTA — The Georgia Senate moved to make cockfighting illegal in Georgia in a near unanimous vote on Thursday.

Senate Bill 102 seeks to align state and federal law, said Sen. Randy Robertson, R-Cataula, the chief sponsor of the measure.

Intentionally making birds fight is a federal crime, but local police are not empowered to enforce it, he said.

The legislation adds “game cock” to a section of Georgia code that already bans dogfighting. It would make cockfighting “for amusement or gain” — charging admission for or wagering money on such spectacles — a felony punishable by up to five years in prison. It would also be illegal to own, possess, train, transport or sell a rooster with the intent to engage it in a fight with other fowl.

The presentation offered a window into the arcane world of cockfighting, with information about the weaponry, such as gaffs, spurs and knives, used to kit out the fighting birds.

Sen. Frank Ginn, R-Danielsville, said he would vote against SB 102 because of his family “heritage” — his great grandfather bred fighting roosters.

Ginn and fellow Republican Colton Moore from Trenton voted against the bill, along with Sen. Nan Orrock, an Atlanta Democrat.

It was a rare cross-party alliance, noted Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, a Republican.

“That’s worth voting again just to see these three voting together,” he quipped, after the bill passed 49-3.

Robertson noted that a similar bill passed the Senate last year but did not get through the House of Representatives, the next stop for SB 102.