Final answer:
A first offense hate crime is a Class E felony, subjected to a mandatory minimum jail time. Hate crimes have a long history, and significant legislation like the Matthew Shepard Act expanded protections against these offenses, reflecting society's efforts to protect individual rights and maintain social stability.
Step-by-step explanation:
A first offense hate crime is categorized as a Class E felony which, under the mentioned bill, carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 days imprisonment.
The proliferation of hate crimes in the United States can be traced back to the violence of early European settlers towards Native Americans, but it was not until the activities of the Ku Klux Klan against Black people and other groups in the early 1900s that these crimes began to garner national investigation and response. Progress was further made with the enactment of the Matthew Shepard Act, which expanded federal hate crime laws to include protections against crimes motivated by a victim's gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disabilities.
The dynamics of how society responds to hate crimes reflect the ongoing struggle for rights and freedoms that can shape the financial, physical, mental, cultural, and emotional well-being of individuals.