Does marriage always have to be consensual?

Do both parties have to consent to a marriage? Is there any way around this? A loophole in a law or something like that?Does marriage always have to be consensual?
In America, a marriage must be consensual for both partners. I don't know about other states, but in my state, one of the few legal requirements for the wedding ceremony was that we both affirm that we choose to be married of our own free will. If it later came out that one partner was forced into marriage, that would be pretty good grounds for an annulment. Other countries might have ';loopholes.';Does marriage always have to be consensual?
Yes, both parties have to consent. This is a very fundamental principle of marriage, so you cannot get ';around'; it, and there are no loopholes. You cannot force a non-consenting person to marry you, nor can anyone use a loophole to force you to marry them.





Wouldn't society be really messed up if someone you didn't love, or didn't even like, could use a loophole in the law to force you to marry them?
No, cave men aren't allowed to drag women off by the hair any longer.





In historical fiction you can read about dishonest preachers, forged marriage licenses, drugged heiresses, and women given the ';choice'; between marrying men they loathed or being kicked out without any resources whatsoever. Or heroes who are tricked into ';compromising positions';, where as gentlemen they have no choice but to offer marriage.





A remnant of this is the ';shotgun marriage';, where an enraged father demands that the guy marry his daughter OR ELSE. The ';or else'; choice can be any kind of consequence, so long as it is legal.





An example of this might be a couple whose activities resulted in a pregnancy, but one of them does not want to marry the other. The alternatives might be eighteen years of child support for him, and a life of hardship as a single mother for her, but nobody can actually force them to marry.
No loophole. It has to be consensual always (at least in the US).





Any non-consensual marriage would be ';void'; (marriage it's like a contract, forcing one party would make the contract illegal, non-valid and unenforceable; a divorce wouldn't be needed since by law the marriage ';never'; existed).





Besides it's creepy the whole idea of trying to ';force'; someone into marriage; that always ends bad.
Arranged marriages. Even then there is an element of consent.





The days of the 'shotgun wedding' are out.
Yeah go to a foreign country where they have arranged marriages.
yes!...why who are u trying to trick into marrying u!? thats bad! tisk tisk