Why This Wall Street-Backed Conservative Think Tank Attacks LGBTQ Rights

The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, best known as a Reaganomics champion, is using anti-LGBTQ politics to advance its broader political goals. But that wasn’t always part of its strategy.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs when he signed a bill into law that prohibits any local government in the state from spending money on DEI-related initiatives. The restrictions could threaten nondiscrimination ordinances, local pride events and other services, leading some LGBTQ advocates to label it a “pride ban.”

The law’s definition of DEI is adapted from a model bill by the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research (MI), a New York City-based conservative think tank that formed in 1978. Since its model bill was released in 2023, at least 10 states have introduced anti-DEI bills that include nearly identical language. Additionally, MI has informed the Trump administration’s policy on gender-affirming care through collaboration on the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) controversial pediatric gender dysphoria report.

Prior to the 2020s, efforts to undermine LGBTQ rights were not a focus for MI. But since then, it began parroting many of the talking points of the anti-LGBTQ movement. While the shift may seem random, an assessment of MI’s history and strategy reveals how these attacks fit into its broader political goals.

“Attacking LGBTQ rights is an effective strategy because bluntly, people don’t like gay people and don’t like trans people,” says Quinnehtukqut McLamore, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Missouri. “It’s effective because it makes it really easy to get … folks who usually don’t sign on with right-wing agendas to back anti-trans positions which set precedent for greater advancement of right-wing goals.”