A S.C. City Councilman says parents who can't properly care for their children should be sterilized. Larry Shirley made the comment after a hold-up at a Hollywood Video Store.

"We pick up stray animals and spay them," Larry Shirley said in a story published Saturday by The Post and Courier of Charleston. "These mothers need to be spayed if they can't take care of theirs. Once they have a child and it's running the street, to let them continue to have children is totally unacceptable."

According to police the incident Wednesday night, a 12-year-old and 14-year-old were charged in that crime. A 9-year-old, who police say was also involved, is considered too young to be charged with robbery. The 14-year-old girl was allegedly carrying a BB gun that looked like a pistol.

"What we've got is a failure in society, whether it's in Mount Pleasant with yuppie parents or whether it's on the East Side with poor crackhead parents," Shirley said, referring to areas in and around Charleston.

State Sen. Robert Ford, a Charleston Democrat, agreed that the crime highlights a societal problem but dismissed Shirley's suggestion to sterilize people as "crazy."

"What Larry Shirley needs to talk about is getting City Council to provide some recreational facilities and activities for these kids and creating an atmosphere conducive to a normal society," said Ford, also a former councilman.