But Maria went along with all of it. She bought a .380 semiautomatic and has gotten used to taking it with her wherever she goes. She got used to the cameras, too, including the seven Jim placed around the house's perimeter. She began to understand why he was so concerned about crime, about terrorists, about the need to protect their family because they couldn't count on the government to do it for them. Last year, when he showed her his new AR-15 and asked her to shoot it, she did, feeling intimidated afterward. But then she did it again. And when he started bringing the rifle not just to the range, but to Atlanta, to the airport, inside Walmart, she eventually went along with that, too.