Introduced by Congressman David Cicilline from Rhode Island, the Equality Act would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the protected categories in the Civil Rights Act.

That means that any transgender citizen -- and any member of the LGBT community -- could never be fired for who they are. Or denied housing because of how they identify. Or turned away from a movie theater because of the hand they held on the way in.

Walking through airport security should never be a traumatic experience.

Planning a road trip should never involve researching which state will allow you to use your bathroom.

And no one should ever be met with intolerance from classmates and administrators when they walk through their school's doors.

Our lives are full of those fleeting, small moments that we take for granted every day. The ones we don't think about until we realize that they aren't so small after all. It is those often overlooked moments that lie at the heart of this effort.

The Equality Act would ensure that every American gets to take those moments for granted too.