foster more acceptance for people who are different. according do the congressman, his granddaughter melissa knew her againeder identity at a very young ageshe was 18 months, she said i'm a girl. and when she was two years old, she said my name is melissa. >> reporter: he's talking about his granddaughter now eight years old, her birth name was brody. almost a year ago he shared with friends and staff that his third grandchild was transgender. honda says melissa has been insistent, persistent and consistent about her gender identity. she agreed to allow her grandfather to talk about it. >> when a child who is different from other children has the courage to be who they are, then when you have a supportive system, they will come and rally around, and usually the parents are part of that. >> reporter: honda says he along with melissa and parents and siblings have rallied around her. >> usually other kids have an okay time with it adults have a difficult time. there's a lot of factors, i think education plays a huge part. >> social media reaction has been positive and negative. the family's support for melissa