A federal judge in Puerto Rico dismissed a challenge to overturn the ban on gay marriage in the territory on Tuesday.

U.S. District Court Judge Juan Pérez-Giménez cited a 1972 U.S. Supreme Court decision in his ruling to uphold the ban on same-sex marriage.

In Baker v. Nelson, the Supreme Court sided with a lower court, which blocked a gay couple from getting married in Minnesota. According to Pérez-Giménez, that decision set the precedent that bans on same-sex marriage are constitutional. He added that the High court has chosen to not overrule itself.

Most other federal courts have argued that that particular case is moot because of recent developments and the Supreme Court's decision to strike down the Defense Against Marriage Act or DOMA in 2013.

However, the Pérez-Giménez stated that the decisions in the DOMA case and the U.S. v. Windsor affirmed the idea that the legality of gay marriage should be decided by the states and that gays don't have a "fundamental right to same-sex marriage," reports The Hill.

Pérez-Giménez went on to say that permitting same-sex marriage would lead to a path for legal challenges to against polygamy and incestuous marriages.

"Ultimately the very survival of the political order depends upon the procreative potential embodied in traditional marriage," said Judge Pérez-Giménez, who was appointed by Democrat President Jimmy Carter in 1979, reports the Los Angeles Times.

"One basic principle remains, the people, acting through their elected representatives, may legitimately regulate marriage by law," he wrote.

All other states that fall under the jurisdiction of the First Circuit Court of Appeals have lifted state bans on gay marriage, according to the Washington Post. As a result, it is likely that the First Circuit will take up an appeal in order to maintain its status on gay marriage in its jurisdiction.

The ruling comes after the U.S. Supreme Court issued a non-decision decision on Oct. 6, which upheld rulings that struck down gay marriage.