As someone pointed out there's really two questions here:
What age should people be doing it at, and what age should it be legal for them to do it at--because it's a safe bet that the majority aren't going to wait the full term.
Ironic really--the very lack of maturity that is the reason for such laws is also the reason they aren't effective.
Anyway, I voted twelve because it was the earliest age available.
Frankly, humans are all across the board here--I'm fairly sure I could've handled it a twelve...
...and I'm eaqually sure there are 40 year olds who aren't ready.
The problem is the violating the "age of consent" taboo will get you
lynched--at least metaphoricaly and quite possibly literally. So it should be as low as possible.
Besides, people in the US are actually maturing physically at earlier ages now. (some say it's the beef hormones being passed in cow's milk)
I've practically sworn off women simply because I can't tell the differance between a 15 year old and a 20 year old with enough certainty to risk going through life a registered sex offender.
And frankly, you can't expect a curious kid to tell you the truth--and I refuse to be reduced to either carding my dates or going for obviously older women.
I guess that's one thing that really bugs me about the age of consent laws--such a big deal is made about ravening pedophiles, but no one stops to consider the danger the laws put normal people in. All it takes is one curious, well developed high school girl and a few lies to ruin a man's life forever.
(I say
man's life because women are not often prosecuted for this unless the age differance is
extreme.)
Anyway, I feel I've suffecienty defended myself for being one of only two people on this forum to vote "12", so I'll shut up now...