Condoleezza Rice has said it is time Americans questioned what the Second Amendment “means in the modern world.”

The rare intervention from the influential Republican and former US Secretary of State comes amid growing debate around the country's gun laws in the wake of the school shooting in Parkland, Florida.

The massacre saw 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz kill 17 students and teachers using an AR-15 assault-style rifle, prompting renewed calls from a number of survivors and some figures on the right for greater weapons restrictions.

And Ms Rice, who served under President George W Bush, said: "I think it is time for us to have a conversation about what the right to bear arms means in the modern world."

Florida shooting – in pictures Show all 10 1 /10 Florida shooting – in pictures Florida shooting – in pictures Police arrest a suspect in connection with the shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida Reuters Florida shooting – in pictures Parents wait for news after reports of a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida AP Florida shooting – in pictures Anxious family members wait for news of students AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee Florida shooting – in pictures Students being evacuated from the school AP Florida shooting – in pictures Students being evacuated from the school Getty Florida shooting – in pictures People gather waiting for word from students AP Florida shooting – in pictures Parents waiting for news on their children AP Florida shooting – in pictures People gather at a hotel where students were taken after the shooting Getty Florida shooting – in pictures Florida Governor Rick Scott speaks to the media as he visits Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School following the shooting AFP/Getty Florida shooting – in pictures Dr. Igor Nichiporenko, Medical Director Trauma, left, and Dr. Evan Boyer, Medical Director, Emergency Services, speak about treating victims and the suspect at a press conference outside Broward Health North hospital AP

"I don’t understand why civilians need to have access to military weapons. We wouldn’t say you can go out and buy a tank," Ms Rice told Hugh Hewitt, an American radio talk show host. ”So I do think we need to have that conversation.”

The Stanford University political science professor is one of several conservatives to call for a conversation about the right to bear arms in the US.

However, she said she believed “the rights that we have in the Constitution are indivisible”, adding: “We can’t throw away the Second Amendment and keep the First.”

Donald Trump says teacher could have 'shot the hell out of' Florida school shooter

Donald Trump has called for raising the minimum age for purchasing semi-automatic rifles, a move opposed by the National Rifle Association.

The NRA has faced a growing backlash following the shooting, with two of the three largest US-based airlines - Delta and United Airlines - cutting ties to the gun advocacy group.

A growing number of large companies have announced they are cutting or reducing ties with the association after it launched a counter-offensive against a student-led campaign for tighter gun laws in the US.

Rental car company Hertz will no longer offer a discount program to NRA members and First National Bank of Omaha, one of the nation’s largest privately held banks, said it would not renew a co-branded Visa credit card it has with the NRA.

Enterprise Holdings, another rental car company, which also owns Alamo and National, said it was also ending discounts for NRA members.

Other companies, including Wyndham Hotels and Best Western hotels, let social media users know they were no longer affiliated with the NRA, though they did not make clear when the partnerships ended.

Signs left during a march at the US Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Florida (REUTERS/Joe Skipper) (Reuters)

In an email on Saturday, the NRA called the companies' actions “a shameful display of political and civic cowardice” and said the loss of corporate discounts and other perks “will neither scare nor distract” NRA members.

“In time, these brands will be replaced by others who recognise that patriotism and determined commitment to Constitutional freedoms are characteristics of a marketplace they very much want to serve,” the statement said.

When Ms Rice was asked what she, as a lecturer, thought about Mr Trump’s NRA-aligned proposal to arm some teachers to fire on attackers, she said: “I don’t really like the idea, frankly, of a gun in my classroom.

“I think that we need to have law enforcement protect us. Look, if people need to train people to protect our schools, and perhaps even communities want to consider whether or not they need guards to protect the schools, it’s a sad thing to think that we might, then that’s something that we should look at. But I don’t think that just arming people in the classroom is going to be the answer.”