A pastor known for his opposition to
gay rights has claimed that “upscale sodomites” are spreading
Ebola at Starbucks.
Pastor James David Manning of the Atlah
Worldwide Church in Harlem, New York warned viewers of The Manning
Report to avoid Starbucks, especially in urban areas.
“Starbucks coffee stores are indeed
ground zero for spreading Ebola and other diseases, because of the
clientele of Starbucks,” Manning said. “Generally upscaled [sic]
sodomites who frequent Starbucks, who sit there with their computers
and it's a meeting place, they exchange a lot of body fluids, hands
shaken and contact.”
“Stay away from Starbucks if you
don't want to get Ebola. And especially the Starbucks in the urban
areas...,” he
added.
Manning is best known for posting
anti-gay messages on his Harlem church sign, including “Jesus would
stone homos.”
(Related: Pastor
James Manning: Appropriate to stone gays “back to hell.”)
However, the only people who have
caught Ebola in the United States have been people treating Ebola
patients. That is, the disease is not spread through casual contact.
Starbucks became the target of social
conservatives after the Seattle-based company endorsed marriage
equality. The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) launched a
boycott against Starbucks in 2012. The coffee giant has said that
the boycott has had no impact on its business.