I certainly understand the anger fomented by one individual's generous contribution to the clearly mean-spirited campaign of Proposition 8. But, I'm not so sure I agree with the message being sent by gay and lesbian activists in the case of 96-year-old Lorenzo Hoopes.

The civic-minded Oakland citizen - with more than 50 years' experience in public service - is currently the target of gay-rights activists who say his $26,000 contribution in support of the 2008 ballot initiative that reversed the state's same-sex marriage law makes him unfit to hold public office.

And to make their point, critics have launched a campaign to block his reappointment to the board of directors of the Paramount Theatre, a city-owned landmark in downtown Oakland.

On its face, the campaign to remove Hoopes from an inconsequential seat on an inconsequential public board appears to be as mean-spirited as the same-sex marriage ban itself. Hoopes, who is Mormon, wasn't on anyone's radar screen until after the ballot initiative won voter approval in November 2008.

Since then, his reappointment has become such a hot-button issue that Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums withdrew Hoopes' nomination from the Oakland City Council's agenda package this week. A Dellums' spokesman said the mayor wanted more time to consider the reappointment. Given his support for same-sex marriage, Dellums will likely withdraw the Hoopes nomination, said one mayoral aide. As mayor, Dellums has appointment power to all city boards and commissions.

Hoopes' opponents believe that anyone who played a role as significant as he did on the ballot initiative should not be allowed to serve in any public capacity. His contribution was the largest by any Oakland resident.

But it's even more than that: They want Hoopes to feel the same public humiliation felt by the gay community as the result of a vicious series of televised campaign ads paid for by people like him.

Let's take it one step further. Does the appointment to a public board of anyone whose personal views collide with those of same-sex marriage supporters instantly become a local referendum on same-sex marriage?

I sure hope not.

If during Hoopes' 20 years on the board he had expressed homophobic beliefs that clouded his ability to serve, it would be a different matter entirely.

The fact is that Hoopes, a former Safeway executive, has been an active participant in civic affairs for more than 50 years, and that record alone underscores a strong personal conviction and commitment.

"I love him," said Leslee Stewart, the theater's general manager, who repeated the phrase to emphasize her point.

Rebecca Kaplan, the at-large member of the City Council, and a lesbian, said she will withhold any decision about Hoopes until his name is formally presented to the council for confirmation.

The issues affecting the gay community are much broader and "far more important than any one seat on any one board," Kaplan said.

She would rather focus on ways the theater can embrace the city's gay community, which includes the largest lesbian population in the nation, and increase the theater's use as an entertainment venue for all Oakland citizens.

Like 2 out of 3 Oakland voters, I voted against the same-sex marriage ban. For me, it was because it nullified rights already conveyed on California citizens, and that was wrong.

But at the same time, I need to know that the guy next to me, who voted for it, won't be marginalized, ostracized or excluded because of it.

The appointment of Michael Lighty, the first openly gay member of the city port commission, on Tuesday night says a lot more about Oakland politics than the debate about Hoopes' continued public service.

The nation's changing culture is proof positive that Hoopes' standard of marriage is no longer the only valid viewpoint of society's ultimate union, but in a democracy based on individual religious and political freedoms, seeking to exclude - or completely ban - others for not sharing your politics is just as wrong.