A Gay Politician Brought His Baby to Work and Everything Is OK

Doesn't politics feel so numbing all the time? Like the world is cascading into a thousand-year darkness and there's nothing any of us can do about it?

If you, too, feel plagued with existential darkness about the state of our current political system, here's some adorable photos of New Zealand lawmakers babysitting a gay politician's newborn to help you feel hopeful about literally anything today.

Tamati Coffey, a member of New Zealand's Labour party, brought his infant son, Tutanekai, to a session of Parliament on August 21. Coffey and his husband, Tim Smith, conceived the child through a surrogate -- which is actually a complicated, risky process in the Pacific island nation. Commercial surrogacy is currently illegal in New Zealand, and arrangements with altruistic surrogates are not legally enforceable.

But we're not here to talk about the difficulties of same-sex parenting across the world -- we're here to bask in the fragile beauty of newborn life!

On the adorable quotient, Coffey's fellow parliamentarians were more than happy to oblige. A photo of House Speaker Trevor Mallard bottle-feeding Coffey's son while he was wrapped in his blanket went viral. Mallard tweeted the precious moment and added, "Normally the speaker's chair is only used by presiding officers, but today a VIP took the chair with me."

"Congratulations @tamaticoffey and Tim on the newest member of your family," he said.

Coffey -- who is a representative for Waiariki, a Maori electorate located on the northeast tip of the island -- said he's received "nothing but support" from his colleagues since Tutanekai was welcomed into his growing family. He told the U.K. news show Good Morning Britain that the outpouring of love since the picture went viral has been "really heartwarming."

"It's really good to see the societal change that's occurred over the last 30 years," he added. "We are a much better society."

New Zealand is one of the most progressive nations in the world when it comes to LGBTQ+ equality. Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is illegal in both housing and employment, while LGBTQ+ people are permitted to marry and to serve openly in the military.

That said, the country has yet to take action against conversion therapy and bans gay and bisexual men from donating blood unless they've been celibate for a year.

But hey, that baby is still darn cute.

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