Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called on Friday for a "conversation" about gun rights, questioning why Americans should have access to "military weapons."

"I think it is time for us to have a conversation about what the right to bear arms means in the modern world," Rice told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. "I don’t understand why civilians need to have access to military weapons."

"We wouldn’t, we wouldn’t say you can go out and buy a tank," she continued. "So I do think we need to have that conversation."

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Rice's comments came days after a deadly shooting at a South Florida high school reignited the national debate over gun control and prompted widespread calls to ban assault weapons.

The attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., left 17 people dead and more than a dozen others wounded.

The accused shooter, Nikolas Cruz, 19, allegedly carried out the attack with an AR-15, a rifle he bought legally roughly a year earlier.

Democrats and some Republicans have thrown their support behind proposals to strengthen background checks for people who purchase guns, as well as for implementing a new ban on assault weapons.

The U.S. prohibited such firearms in 1994, but that policy expired in 2004.

President Trump Donald John TrumpUS reimposes UN sanctions on Iran amid increasing tensions Jeff Flake: Republicans 'should hold the same position' on SCOTUS vacancy as 2016 Trump supporters chant 'Fill that seat' at North Carolina rally MORE has signaled support in recent days for strengthening background checks and raising the minimum age for buying guns, but he does not support a ban on assault weapons.