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Kids that will take on multiple adult men at 9am on a Monday are a pretty serious threat. No joke.

Unfortunately, for anyone that actually has a carry permit, carrying in the Greenway is probably more risk than it's worth. Pulling a firearm on kids with rocks is not an action you want to have to defend. Especially post-Zimmerman.
Also, you can be sure that any kids you scare off with your heater are bound to call the cops just as fast as you can, about, "the crazy man with a gun in the Greenway". And then you get to explain to the MPD, "exactly who was threatening who?".

A better solution is to follow the '4 stupids' rule: "Do not go to stupid places with stupid people to do stupid things at stupid times"
- the Greenway has qualified as at least 2 of the above for a long time. And after-dark on the Greenway solidly qualifies as a third. And for my perspective, folks that think the Greenway is safe probably account for the 4th one.

I do get a kick out of folks that believe a firm stance, an unapproving stare and a phone call to 911 are all it takes to drive off enterprising hoods. :D They go there because it's an ideal low-risk environment for their line of work. And the incident numbers pretty clearly demonstrate it. For every incident that's reported, there are probably a series of unreported or near-misses. Not to mention they know that most folks down there are likely to be completely unarmed out of "principle".

I'd prefer to steer completely clear of them and be prepared to defend myself appropriately if they decide to come to my neighborhood or home.

It'd be more useful if they'd convert the Greenway back into useful rail lines, and put some solid sustainable mass transit on it.