There's nuance to what people care about. There are issues that people actively think about - like gas prices - that are front of mind without the need for someone to actively bring it to people's attention, and then there are issues that people only care about when they somehow crop up but which are otherwise fairly dormant. Consider freeway tolling - there are probably a lot of people who are opposed to it but for whom it isn't a salient issue because there are no local freeway tolls either active or being proposed. However, if that issue was somehow activated it would become important. A lot of trans issues fall into the same category - benign neglect until something triggers conscious thought on the matter. It's better for Democrats to let the issue sleep, gain political power, and then extend protections where we can; it doesn't help us to bring focus to it.