On Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Mike Honda tweeted that he is “the proud grandpa of a transgender grandchild,” continuing, “I hope she can feel safe at school without fear of being bullied.” The picture accompanying the tweet showed the young child with shoulder-length hair smiling as Honda wrapped his arm around the child.
Honda, the founder and chairman of the Congressional Anti-Bullying Caucus and a founding member of the LGBT Equality Caucus, changed his Wikipedia page on Wednesday afternoon to reflect his public revelation regarding his grandchild. The new information states that his daughter Michelle has two sons and a transgender daughter. The page also mentioned a Huffington Post article published Wednesday that may have prompted Honda’s tweet. The article, written by Marsha Aizumi, spoke of a Southern California conference that showed a video of Honda speaking proudly of his transgendered grandchild. Honda said:
As both an individual, and as an educator, I have experienced and witnessed bullying in its many forms. And as the proud jichan, or grandpa, of a transgender grandchild, I hope that my granddaughter can feel safe going to school without fear of being bullied. I refuse to be a bystander while millions of people are dealing with the effects of bullying on a daily basis.
Aizumi has a transgender son.
Honda responded to the HuffPo article by stating, “I’m heartened that Marsha Aizumi was so touched by my message. Marsha has been one of the leading advocates for AAPI transgender youth, and I am proud to work with her. We need to ensure that our LGBTQ youth are never bullied because of their real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. These children need our protection and our love.”
Honda, who has served in Congress since 2001, was reelected to Congress last November with a narrow victory against Ro Khanna, a former Obama administration official.