Officials at the American Library Association denounced bans on sexually explicit books across the nation, a move which they say disrespects those who claim LGBT identity.

Democratic lawmakers and LGBT activists have criticized conservative parents for seeking to prohibit sexually explicit books in government schools and public libraries. The American Library Association said in a press release commemorating National Library Week that the number of titles “targeted for censorship” increased 65% last year relative to the prior year.

“In looking at the titles of the most challenged books from last year, it’s obvious that the pressure groups are targeting books about LGBTQIA+ people and people of color,” American Library Association President Emily Drabinski, a self-described “Marxist lesbian” whose recent election to the position induced much controversy, remarked in the release. “We are fighting for the freedom to choose what you want to read. Shining a light on the harmful workings of these pressure groups is one of the actions we must take to protect our right to read.”

The book most frequently challenged last year was Gender Queer, a graphic novel with descriptions of masturbation and oral sex, as well as sexual illustrations. The second most challenged book was All Boys Aren’t Blue, which also has descriptions of homosexual activity. Many of the other books mentioned as purported targets of book bans had similar content.

“These are books that contain the ideas, the opinions, and the voices that censors want to silence: stories by and about LGBTQ+ persons and people of color,” American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom Director Deborah Caldwell-Stone added in the release. “Each challenge, each demand to censor these books is an attack on our freedom to read, our right to live the life we choose, and an attack on libraries as community institutions that reflect the rich diversity of our nation. When we tolerate censorship, we risk losing all of this.”

Republican lawmakers and conservative parents have opposed the notion that the book bans constitute unjust censorship by arguing that children should not be exposed to sexual content. Some conservatives have confronted opponents of the book bans by reading excerpts of the books at school board meetings and legislative hearings, provoking unease from the activists.