The Fed.gov, as bad as it is, has never gone back on a gun registration amnesty to my knowledge. If anyone has ever come forward during such an amnesty period and jumped through all of the hoops, they weren't - and to date HAVEN'T BEEN - prosecuted in any way.
Do I trust the gov't, at any level - NO.
But where are these people (the WW2 vets and their surviving families) now? Right now, they hold guns that are considered illegal by the fed.gov. IF the fed.gov knew about these guns, a big truck full are heavily armed BATFE agents would show up, kick down the door, kill all nearby animals, terrorize kids & old ladies, and shoot or beat most of the adult males. The amnesty would change that. The amnesty would allow these people to sleep better at night by legalizing the guns (again, according to the gov't, because I think that they are quite legal without the $200 tax stamp, etc.). The owners of some 200,000 legal machine guns now on the registry don't lose sleep at night worrying about a BATF raid, because they are legal.
I agree that the best thing would be to repeal the '34 NFA, so that we could all go to Wallyworld or Home Despot and buy MGs over the counter with no wait, no tax stamp and no letter from our nannies, errr, local police chiefs. HOWEVER, you are living in a dream world if you think that any such thing will happen any time soon. Again, we lost rights one slice at a time, and that's the only way that we'll ever get them back.
As to the language about "any gun," you have to look at what a "gun" (or, more accurately, "firearm") is under the statutes in question. It is NOT literally any firearm. It IS all of those firearms covered under the '34 NFA - i.e. any full auto gun, short barreled guns and destructive devices. THIS is where you simply DO NOT understand the law, or the proposed legislation.
FYI, Garands and the like won't be taken away. Too many people have "ordinary" semi-autos. That stuff may fly in NJ or CA, but it won't work in TX and the many like-minded states in between. Instead of guns, the feds would much more likely be collecting the bodies of their fellow agents, and I'd bet on a few state funerals for more prominent public employees.
I understand and sympathize with your feelings on this issue. I, too, despise gun control and those in government who have absconded with our liberties. However, you are simply mistaken. PLEASE read the proposed legislation and the relevant portions of the '34 NFA. No one here is so immature as to say "told 'ya, told 'ya, nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah." We'll simply celebrate your newfound knowledge, and hopefully proceed from their to help get this bill passed - as the first step toward getting the NFA repealed at some point in the future.
I will reiterate: If they want to reform laws, dump the ones this is supposed to reform.