TBI processes 53% more firearm background checks in Tennessee in 2020 Officials said that the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation processed 740,580 background checks in 2020, compared to 484,702 the year before. Author: WBIR Staff Updated: 10:41 PM EST January 27, 2021 Nearly double the number of guns was purchased in 2020 than in the year before, according to new data from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Officials said that they processed 740,580 firearms background checks, compared with 484,702 in 2019. Experts believe that the COVID-19 pandemic may have helped fuel the increase in gun purchases. Officials also said that civil unrest across the U.S. could also have contributed to the rise.