Holy Matrimony?

So, recently, President Obama has taken a stand in support of same sex marriage. Awesome. I'm not necessarily savvy on politics, but I'm having a hard time understanding why this is an issue. Why is this even up for debate in the first place? I'd like to believe that marriage is a human right. Some may argue that the country is built on Christianity, and therefore justifies the denial of gay marriage and the enforcement of America's "my house, my rules" policy, which allows us to pick and choose when the rules apply, and who they apply to. But what does that say about our government? So, what, legal rights only apply to Christians now? Those who practice other religions aren't denied the right to marry, so why should the LGBT community be any different? 

America is supposed to be "the land of the free." And if this country allows homosexuals to work and pay taxes as US Citizens, then they should be allotted the same legal rights as EVERY other US citizen. Denying their community the right to legally commit will NOT stop them from being gay, so what difference does it make? It seems a bit unfair to me, to run an allegedly diverse country from an extremely narrow viewpoint. I thought laws were made with the intent of protecting this nation, and its people. Not to ostracize those that don't conform to a personal opinion of "normality." Who are we to judge?