As Minnesota and Florida’s Orange County look for ways to support same-sex domestic partners, a new coalition forms in New York to push for full marriage equality:

- ARIZONA: Gov. Brewer (R) signed a bill that would give “primary consideration” to married (read: heterosexual) couples in all the state’s adoption and foster care services, which could essentially end same-sex couples’ access to those services.

- DELAWARE: As reported last week, the General Assembly approved civil unions and Gov. Jack Markell (D) has confirmed he will sign the bill.

- FLORIDA: Domestic partner benefits will now be available in Orange County thanks to a unanimous vote by the county’s commissioners, including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, COBRA, bereavement leave, domestic violence leave, and counseling and referral services.

- HAWAII: The House agreed to an amended Senate bill offering transgender employment protections and it now awaits Gov. Abercrombie’s (D) signature.

- MAINE: A new documentary, Question 1, about the campaign to overturn Maine’s marriage equality law, reveals that the chair of the “Yes on 1″ campaign deeply regrets having worked against marriage equality.

- MINNESOTA: Despite an impending constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, legislators have introduced a bill that would offer benefits to same-sex domestic partners in state employment contracts. Meanwhile, Gov. Mark Dayton (D) made history by being the first sitting governor to speak at LGBT Lobby Day and offer his support of marriage equality.

- NEVADA: The House has passed a transgender employment protections bill, and supporters are optimistic it will pass in the Senate as well. Other bills being considered would end transgender discrimination in public accommodations and housing while another would make transgender hate crime sentences harsher.

- NEW YORK: Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has allied with a new coalition of marriage equality groups called New Yorkers United for Marriage to develop a $1 million media campaign, with a goal of same-sex marriages taking place by early summer.

- OKLAHOMA: Two bills passed today altering how civil rights claims are handled in Oklahoma, limiting the window for filing them and the objectivity with which they will be handled.

- TENNESSEE: Today the Senate Education Committee was scheduled to consider the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which would prohibit discussion of any aspect of human sexuality other than heterosexuality in grades K-8.

- TEXAS: A bill on today’s Senate intent calendar would prohibit transgender Texans from entering opposite-gender marriages by not allowing applicants for marriage licenses to use a “court order of sex change” as an identifying document.

Keep track of how LGBT issues are advancing in the states at our State LGBT Watch.

Nate Silver has this new chart tracking the growing public support for same-sex marriage. “If support for gay marriage were to continue accelerating as fast as it has in the past two years, supporters would outnumber opponents roughly 56-40 in the general population by November 2012,” he concludes:

“But this does put Republicans in a tricky position. Their traditional position on gay marriage is becoming less popular. But to the extent they disengage from the issue, they may lose even more ground,” Silver writes. Growing support for marriage may explain why Boehner did not kick the House’ defense of DOMA news into higher gear and hasn’t committed to holding votes on marriage bills, like the measure that would eliminate same-sex marriage in the District of Columbia.

Matt Yglesias rightfully suggests that this kind of data should also push President Obama to “evolve” in his support for same-sex marriage. Not only is that the right position, but it would also mainstream the issue in the Democratic party and likely push public support for marriage way past the 50 percent mark. At that point, “Justice Kennedy and the four other liberals and moderates favor marriage equality on the merits, they can now rest assured that a pro-equality ruling would be politically sustainable.”

ThinkProgress filed this report from Concord, New Hampshire.

When former Minnesota Governor and likely presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) appeared at a presidential forum sponsored by the FAMiLY Leader — an anti-gay social conservative group in Iowa — in February, he was asked about the organization’s insistence that homosexuality is a public health risk akin to second hand smoking. The group’s President Bob Vander Plaats stepped in to shield Pawlenty from the question and said that the group has not made such a connection. He has since doubled down on the smoking claim and the Leader conceded that its website did direct users to SecondHandEffects.com.

Last Friday, during an event in Concord, New Hampshire, I asked Pawlenty if he agreed with the group’s message. Despite hearing the ‘second hand effects’ meme during his trip to Iowa, Pawlenty still seemed surprised by my question, but did not fully endorse the Leader’s claims:

VOLSKY: Governor, you spoke to the FAMiLY Leader in Iowa in February and that group has said that homosexuality is a public health risk. They’ve linked it to second hand smoking. Do you agree with that?

PAWLENTY: Well, my view in terms of the FAMiLY Leader questions is that we have a country that has traditionally respected things like traditional marriage, which I support. But you know, I have my own views on these matters.

VOLSKY: Do you think homosexuality is a health risk?

PAWLENTY: Is it a health risk? … Well, we have some evidence to indicate that if you engage in unprotected sex you might increase the chance of getting the HIV/AIDS. But you know, that’s also true, can be true in heterosexual community as well.

Watch it:

Recently, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) also failed to endorse Vander Plaats’ beliefs, even as she spoke at an event organized by the Leader. “Um. I — I don’t have an answer on that. I don’t have an answer,” she said, when I asked her if she agreed with the ‘second hand smoke’ argument.

Republicans may be hesitant to agree with the Leader’s outrageous claims, but they have no problem courting and associating with the controversial Plaats in the hopes of winning over conservative Iowa caucus goers. During a recent interview with ThinkProgress, Plaats said, “If we’re teaching the kids, ‘don’t smoke, because that’s a risky health style,’ the same can be true of the homosexual lifestyle.”