Parents should be spayed !

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- A lawmaker who said he's getting death threats said he's sorry if he upset people with a crime-fighting suggestion he made.

He suggested that sterilizing parents who don't properly care for their children could help reduce crime.

Larry Shirley, a city councilman in Charleston, S.C., raised eyebrows when asked about a store robbery carried out by a group of children. Noting that stray animals are picked up and spayed, he said mothers should also "be spayed" if they can't take care of their children.

Shirley said he realizes that can't be done, but that he only wanted to "start the dialogue." Shirley said he's sorry if anyone was offended by his remarks last week. And, he added, if people don't want a dialogue, he'll keep quiet.

Some black leaders have called for Shirley's resignation. He said he's received several death threats.

He's rejecting calls to quit his council seat in a state that once was among 33 that forced people in prisons and mental institutions to be sterilized.

The original comment came in an interview with a Charleston newspaper in which he reacted to a nighttime video store holdup that authorities said was carried out by a group of children.

The Charleston Post and Courier said it got more than 100 e-mails from across the nation, most supporting Shirley.