A federal judge's long-term same-sex relationship did not mean he would be biased in handling the legal challenge to Proposition 8 and does not justify wiping out his ruling invalidating California's ban on gay marriage, the Bay Area's chief federal judge ruled Tuesday.

In his decision, Chief U.S. District Judge James Ware rejected the arguments of Proposition 8's sponsors, who maintained that former Chief Judge Vaughn Walker's ruling last year should be set aside because of his 10-year relationship with a male doctor. Walker struck down Proposition 8, concluding that it violated the rights of same-sex couples who want the equal right to marry.