Editor, Gazette-Journal:

In last week’s edition, your article titled “Mathews attorney seeks injunction against governor,” you reported that attorney Conrad Bareford filed suit to enjoin Governor Ralph Northam from enforcing the governor’s coronavirus-related ban on assembly of 100 or more people in Virginia. According to your article, attorney Bareford alleges that the First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects the right of assembly and renders Governor Northam’s March 5 suspension of unlimited assembly in view of coronavirus void.

The foregoing injunctive suit should be dismissed by the Circuit Court. It is a frivolous lawsuit that wastes judicial resources and takes them from legitimate cases and controversies.

Had attorney Bareford performed the legal research that Virginia’s Code of Professional Responsibility requires him to undertake before signing such a complaint, he would have determined that the United States Supreme Court, 115 years ago, considered...