That's a First: Republicans Tape It Gets Better Video

After more than a year and hundreds of videos later, the first Republican lawmakers have recorded an It Gets Better video.

Three Republican members of the New Jersey congressional delegation joined seven Democrats, including the state's two senators, in offering their support to gay youth while also calling today for policy change that would prevent antigay bullying.

The three GOP members are Reps. Leonard Lance, Frank LoBiondo, and Jon Runyan.

"No one should ever be bullied," said Sen. Frank Lautenberg, who has sponsored an anti-discrimination bill in Congress named after Tyler Clementi, a Rutgers student who killed himself in 2010 after being secretly recorded in a sexual encounter that was posted on the Internet. The law would require any university receiving federal funding to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation.

The video doesn't mention the proposed law but the Republicans do join in on calling for some changes, specifically that schools should implement codes of conduct and work harder to prohibit harassment.

"We can't completely eliminate bullying," say LoBiondo, "but there are actions we can take to make things better now."

LoBiondo and the others are stepping out where no other Republican lawmaker has gone before. But their records aren't exactly gay-friendly. For example, LoBiondo voted against repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" and for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

In the most recent election, Lance beat challenger Ed Potosnak, who is gay, and the two squared off in debates over Lance's support for "don't ask, don't tell." Still, the three promise, "it really does get better."

In the video, Lance predicts that "respect and acceptance will grow day by day." And Runyan says, "The things that make us different are the things that make our country strong."