Retail giant Target is suing a San Diego-based progressive group that supports gay marriage, among other issues, the AP reported.

The retailer wants Canvass For A Cause (CFAC) to stop talking to its customers outside its San Diego County stores. Target says the group's activities are disruptive and driving away customers.

The trial, which opens Fridays, promises to further tarnish Target's reputation among progressives.

Target found itself the target of a boycott last year after it was disclosed that the Minnesota-based company had given $150,000 to MN Forward, an independent political fund supporting Tom Emmer, the anti-gay Republican nominee who lost his bid to become Minnesota's next governor. Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel apologized for the contribution, but rejected a request from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest gay rights advocate, to give an equal amount of money to a pro-gay candidate.

And a deal to sell a deluxe edition of Lady Gaga's second studio album Born This Way was axed earlier this month after the singer backed out. Lady Gaga, an avid supporter of gay rights, said that the decision “hinged” on Target making “amends for the mistakes they've made in the past.”

Target told the AP that its “legal action was in no way related to the cause of the organization and was done so to be consistent with our long-standing policy of providing a distraction-free shopping experience by not permitting solicitors at our stores.”

Canvass For A Cause director Tres Watson said the company is biased against his group because it promotes gay marriage.

“It's very David vs. Goliath,” he said. “We understand they're the Goliath in the room. They've got all [the] money in the world to get us to stop talking about gay marriage.”

In its suit, Target alleges that the group, formed in 2009, is too aggressive, often cornering customers to debate their views on gay marriage, claims the group has denied.

Canvass For A Cause argues that shopping centers have become today's public squares and points to recent court rulings that support its claim.