Daily Links, Feb. 7: Contraception, same-sex marriage, and abortion

The argument over the contraception mandate in health care coverage remains the top news story. The Washington Post reports [1] that White House advisors are asking President Obama to seek compromise on the issue, but a new poll shows that a majority of Catholics don't really object [2] to mandatory contraception coverage in employee health care. David Gibson writes at Sojourners [3] about how these results factor in to the debate, as does Lisa Fullam at Commonweal. [4]

And at Religion Dispatches, Sarah Posner looks at another poll [5] showing Catholics aren't all that opposed to the Obama administration's decision.

And here at U.S. Catholic, Bryan Cones looks at the larger context [6] of the religious freedom debate and the legal precedent for contesting the HHS mandate.

In more positive news, job openings are on the rise [7], reaching a three-year high in December.

The big news out of California today is that a court struck down the ban on same-sex marriage [8], ruling the voter-approved ban is unconstitutional. Once again, Bryan Cones offers some additional insight on our blog [9].

Alabama may be taking another look [10] at its controversial immigration law. One Alabama state senator admits that Jesus would "probably not" vote [11] for the state's current law.

With Indiana leading the way [12] for more states to consider right-to-work laws, Vox Nova looks at an even more troubling idea: term limits for employees [13].

And finally, we haven't heard the last of the Komen for the Cure/Planned Parenthood saga. Today Komen exec Karen Handel resigned [14] over the charity's decision to resume funding of Planned Parenthood. Some say the move may help Handel rejuvenate her political career [15] by winning the support of pro-life groups.