Bernice King Leaves Post at Long's Church

Bernice King, the antigay daughter of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., is stepping down as an elder of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, headed by embattled pastor Eddie Long (pictured, left, with King).

King's action, however, is apparently unrelated to Long's troubles, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Long last week announced the settlement of lawsuits in which four young men had accused him of sexual misconduct.

King is leaving her post with the suburban Atlanta megachurch with Long's blessing, sources told the Journal-Constitution. She is scheduled to discuss her plans on a religious radio show Tuesday afternoon.

She has angered gays by saying, among other things, that her father "did not take a bullet for same-sex marriage," and by participating in marches against marriage equality. LGBT advocates have pointed out that her mother, the late Coretta Scott King, was a gay rights supporter, and noted that Martin Luther King was sympathetic to Bayard Rustin, the gay man who aided him in much of his civil rights work.