Do you believe that a person needs both a mom and a dad to be happy?

if they are bad , neither

No, but I think having two parents is definitely beneficial.

Of course not. Happiness is far, far, far more complex than what gender your parents were.

To be happy? No.

To turn out properly adjusted? Probably.

No, I am living proof that you don't need either. Happiness comes from within.

Well from my perspective, i think life is more complete with both parents sticking around. Of course if both parents are reasonable and kind people. Otherwise it would suck anyway. It's not a matter of having both parents, it's a matter of having good parents or bad parents.
But it's definitely better to have both good parents then only one good parent to stick around.
Reasons:
1. There are two incomes instead of one.
2. A child needs a father figure and a mother figure because society is made of both genders not just one, so if a child has both male and female figures in his life it's gonna be easier to interact with people of all genders later in life.
3. two is better than one. When one is not around to take care of the kid there is the other one to do it instead.
4. A mother can give love and understanding to a child and a father would discipline and give the child confidence and wisdom.

Besides, look at the statistics of criminality. More than 70% of crimes are committed by people who came from single parent families.

I was raised only by my mother and i can say my childhood sucked badly. We had no money, because there was only one income and she couldn't provide enough to ensure a decent living for both of us.
And second, because of the fact that i didn't have a father figure in my life i was very scared of interating with other boys when i began school. That led to a series of bad events during my childhood that affected me a lot, still is.
Therefore is strongly advise people to not choose to have a child by themselves if they are single. To not adopt or have artificial insemination when you know from the beginning you're gonna raise the child as a single parent. That's the most vicious thing you could do to your child.

If it were the case, why are there people who have both, yet they are unhappy?

I agree with Counterfeit.Circus.

I have a mother and a grandmother. The way they raised me obviously has an affect on my overall life (including happiness) but it's not the defining thing.

Though, in my case, having a mother and a father would probably have made my life decidedly UNhappy.

I miss my father.

I believe that you can be happy with both of your parents. They both created you and raised you. When you get older, your parents will die and that will be very sad.

It just depends on what kinds of parents they are.

I don't know my dad well, well enough to know I despise him as a human being.

But im glad I have my mum. Besides, my older cousins, uncles and even my grandad pitched in into raising me into the man I am today!

well I had a da and ma, but that does not mean single parents can't do great raising kids,

You don't need a mom and a dad to be happy. I am happy.

Depending on the parents, like if their violence, nice, caring ect

My life would have been miserable if I grew up with my dad. Thanks heaven it was just my mom and my brother.

I wont vote on this. Personally though, living in a household with a mother and a father (even though adopted) was a shining example to the kind of family i want in my adult life.

A real one...

People don't need anything but a decision to be happy. Life is 100% your outlook and 0% your circumstances. There people with nothing and no one who live life happily. There are people with all the family support/material things in the world who will never be happy.

I don't believe a person needs both to be happy, no. A person can be completely fine without either. I do think though that having both is more beneficial than just one regardless if one is bad or not. I believe this not only because of what two people can accomplish but also because my own dad is not a great example of how a dad should be at all. He is there however and has occasionally done a few things like he is supposed to, occasionally. Most of the time though, just annoying. My mom is the better parent and always does things as she should. "Because" my dad is here at least providing a bad example, I know how a dad should be by doing everything that he doesn't do. I know one can argue that a person can grow up with a bad parent and act like them since that is all they know as a double-edged sword but that is how I see it.

Yes

I feel like the distinct father and mother figures are really important. Thats not to say that single parents can't be both a father and a mother to their kids, but I still think that a household run by two parents is ideal.

I don't know about how I feel about gay marriage when it comes to raising kids. Part of me wants to think that 'mother' is an exclusively female role and furthermore is best left up to the biological mother if she has capacity to raise the child. But for the most part I don't think the law should meddle with gay rights.

But in the end, happiness comes from within. So even if you're an orphan you can still be happy, though it may be harder in most cases.