and tapered off in the 90's, perhaps because of the War on Drugs??? ;-) I think it is because there are some people that are more resistant to cultural corruption, and the limit was reached.
I think LBJ and the unnecessary War on Poverty (and consequent increase in non-marital aid) started the destruction of the family unit. Whatever led to it, it wasn't the War on Drugs or the presence of guns. (I say the "unnecessary War on Poverty" because if you look at the Federal data, poverty was already on a major decline when he started pushing those programs, which were built upon by later presidents. He created a crisis in the mind of the nation that did not exist in real life, so that his party could push a power agenda. (This kind of sounds familiar.) As a result, we started creating a permanently oppressed class, and lessened economic/financial mobility...all while racism was on a serious decline.)